What's it Called?
by Talkingbirdguy
Summary: David and his friend, Ben, are going through a small town when David, ever the artist, decides that he wants to draw Mt. Ebott. Ben, the more adventurous of the two, convinces David to climb Mt. Ebott. They take shelter in a cave when it begins to rain and discover a hole. David, despite being careful, falls in. Now he does what he must to get to the surface. Warning: language.
1. Chapter 1

What's it Called? Chap 1

This is the result of three weeks of lots of free time, incessant Plot Bunnies, and a minor obsession of Undertale. This is about as close to a one-shot that I think I'm going to ever get and this is about 30K words and six chapters.

What can I say? I like stories with a bit of depth.

And some things are going to be a little different from the actual game. I realize this. Just about everything that is different is meant to be different from the game.

Please feel free to leave reviews and I hope you all enjoy this!

Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Undertale belongs to the great Toby Fox and I claim absolutely nothing except a bunch of adoration of the great game and this work, which is of my own creation.

* * *

Chapter 1

"You're not getting tired, are you, David?"

I forced my audible breathing to slow and grinned at my, hardly sweating, friend.

"Just enjoying the mountain air. Can't get enough of it!"

"I'm sure," Benny, usually referred to as Ben by most, drawled. He was waiting a few yards up the path and I obliged him by hauling myself up to where he was.

Why are mountains so bloody steep?

The better question: why am I climbing this bloody mountain?

"Tell me, again, why are we doing this?"

"Because we were headed this way and you demanded we stop so you could draw this mountain."

"I said 'draw the mountain,' not 'climb the giant pile of dirt!'"

"Eh, we had the equipment. I thought you would enjoy the experience."

"Yeah, sure." We fell silent and kept climbing. We had been going uphill for three or so hours and the near forty-five degree slope was wearing on my endurance. Ben had an easier time of it with his hobby of wall-climbing having built his endurance well.

If only my hobby was as endurance building. Unfortunately, drawing isn't as strenuous as most other activities. Pretty dang rewarding, yeah. But not strenuous.

Not unless you're hauling the supplies up a freaking mountain!

"Let's take a break here," Ben moved from the basic path and sat on a boulder that was worn flat.

I found one of near-equal flatness and set my camouflage seabag on the ground with a sigh of relief. I had gotten the cylindrical canvas bag from a cousin who was going off to the Navy and gave it to me as a present. The bag was only half full, having been emptied of anything that wasn't necessary for our climb. Everything else was left in Ben's truck at a motel in the town located at the base of Mt. Ebott.

'Why were we there,' you ask?

We were on a final road trip. College was starting in three months for the both of us and we knew that opportunities like road trips and such would become scarce. We would both be going to different colleges due to what we each wanted to major in.

I wanted to go into game design and something that would allow me to put my art skills and rampant imagination to use. Ben wanted to go and become a robotics engineer.

Most were surprised at how close the two of us were when they learned of how different we were. I was pretty smart and managed to keep good grades with ease, but was honestly very lazy. I hated getting out and doing anything more than necessary. Even running with the track team-which my mother forced me to join-was pushing it. The only reason I kept up with the team was to stay somewhat in shape.

God knows what I'll do to stay fit when I go to college.

Ben enjoyed getting out and doing stuff. To him, the best joy came from going outside and doing one thing or another. He was a mechanic at heart and an adrenalin junkie by choice.

We weren't even sure why we were such good friends. I think it's our personalities.

"Catch," I fumbled with the water bottle, barely managing to catch it before it went out of my hands and rolling back down the slope.

I glared at him while uncapping the bottle. He grinned at my expression and ran his hand through his reddish-brown hair. His short hair had a windblown look at all times. No one had ever managed to conquer it. He had freckles spread liberally over his arms and dotting his face.

My own dirty blonde was usually neat and combed short. I had let it grow out a little, having not been to a barber since we left our homes a month prior. Now, I was just trying to keep the sweat-soaked follicles from getting into my eyes. I was beginning to consider grabbing one of the machetes we had brought along and doing a hack job after feeling the sting in my left eye once again.

"How high do we need to go to get your 'perfect angle?'" He made his fingers form air quotes when he said those last two words, repeating what I had said the day before.

I took a moment to think back to what I had seen the evening before. We were coming into the town, aptly named Ebott, and the sunlight streaming across the hills of West Virginia caught my attention and I hadn't been able to get it out of my head.

I had to draw it!

As we drove, I had made it a personal goal to draw something from each state. In Florida, our home state, I drew a picture of a crab trying to snap at a piece of string that was strung above it. In Georgia, a peach that was ready to fall from its lofty perch. And so on and so on.

But we were almost out of West Virginia and I had yet to see anything truly inspiring. So Ben, wanting somewhat to climb anyways, decided to go along with my request that we stay the day in Ebott and give me the chance to draw it when sundown came.

He, in turn, convinced me to climb the bloody mountain. Worst choice made on the road trip since I tried petting that goat in Alabama. Ben laughed when the goat began chasing me, doing nothing to help.

Don't trust a single fucking goat. Not one of them!

"Just a little higher, I think. I'll need a clear ledge or something to draw from."

"What are you thinking of naming this one?"

I shrugged and said, "I'm not sure. I'm thinking of pulling something about this place being cursed into the title, but nothing's come to me yet."

It would come. I was sure it would.

* * *

"I hate this giant pile of dirt," I wheezed and collapsed, not caring about the aching protest that came from one of my ribs that managed to connect with a stone.

"Oh, how about there?" Ben nudged me with his foot and I lifted my head to look towards our right.

"...it will do." My head went right back down and I rested in the shade. Ben snorted at my actions.

"Good. I'm not sure how much more sunlight we have left-"

His words sent a jolt through my body and I sat up and scrambled over to where I had deemed good enough.

"Woah! What's the hurry?"

"I have to set up and get ready!"

I moved quickly to get out all of my supplies. My special coloured pencils, sketch pad, and a few other objects-

I saw a drop appear on one of my pages and paused long enough to look up.

"Well damn," Ben said right behind me, moments before the heavens decided to open.

I managed to shield the paper in my jacket, which I wore due to the cool mountain air. Ben grabbed my other supplies and we high tailed it down the mountain to a small alcove in the stone that we had passed a short time earlier.

We ran into it and found that it opened up into a cave a short distance in.

"It's a good thing you noticed this. I don't think any of my papers would have survived that deluge," I said gratefully, pulling out aforementioned papers and finding most of them unscathed. The alcove, which we now knew was actually a cave, was hidden behind bushes and some trees. He had noticed it purely by chance when he had moved off to take a leak.

I saw Ben's mouth move, but loud thunder cut his words out of existence.

He waited for the sound to die away before saying, "You're welcome. Here," he passed me my other items and I stored them, along with my papers, in my seabag. Thankfully, it's material kept the items inside more or less dry.

The cloud overhead blocked the sun and the amount of light that came into the cave dropped significantly.

"Ah damn. Let me find my flashlight."

I pulled out my phone and clicked on the small flashlight on the front to give him some light.

"Heh, thanks."

I nodded and held it long enough for him to find the flashlight that he packed.

"How did we miss that?" I asked, out loud.

"Must've come from behind the mountain. No way we would've seen it."

We had been climbing up only one side the whole way, keeping to a badly kept path for a fourth of the way before going off-road beyond that. We had gotten near the peak before I finally demanded that we stop.

"Well this sucks," I muttered while pocketing my phone, flashlight off. I didn't want to waste power.

"Could be worse-" the rain came down even harder, a bit of spray actually reaching us and pushing us deeper into the darkness of the cave.

I glared at Ben and he grinned sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes and, using the light from his flashlight, got mine out of my seabag.

I flicked mine on and pointed it out of the cave. The light hardly reached a meter outside before becoming effectively useless. Finding nothing that way, I pointed it into the cave and was surprised when I found more open cave than I expected.

"I'm going to see if there's any more back there," I said, hitching my seabag over my shoulders and moving further into the cave, flashlight extended. Ben had sat down and nodded at me while trying to relax.

"Call if you find anything."

I grunted in response and had to duck a little to go further into the cave. I walked about fifteen meters, hunched over and seabag dragging against the ceiling.

Then my foot landed on something that was obviously not stone. I froze, afraid to look down but unable to prevent myself from doing so.

It was a simple vine. I felt my body relax at the sight. The sound of frantic dripping had me point the flashlight forward again and was surprised to see rain pouring from a hole in the rock above. That explained how the vines managed to stay alive, being so deep in the cave.

But why did the rain landing sound so far away?

If I hadn't looked, I would have, unintentionally, leapt.

A hole, easily five meters in diameter, was only about half a meter in front of me. Had I taken a full step, or two smaller steps forward, I would have fallen in. Taking a moment to evaluate and accept the risks, I moved forward and pointed my flashlight down into the hole.

The hole only looked to be four or five meters deep. Much less than what the water made it sound like.

But where was the water? I peered carefully through the darkness and confirmed what I thought I saw. The water was not hitting the rocky ground that I saw.

It was going through.

I thought about what that could possibly mean, and kicked a rock down.

It went through. The sound of it hitting down below came clearly to my ears.

"Ben!"

In a minute and a half, he was next to me and I had shown him what I had found.

"Get out that rope," I told him, feeling excitement stirring in my stomach.

He handed the rope to me and I unrolled it.

"This will tell us how deep this really is," I explained before tossing the end of the rope over the edge and slowly feeding it more slack until it went limp.

I pulled it back up, marking the spot it had stopped.

"About ten or eleven yards, maybe," Ben surmised. "But why should we care? We're not going-what the hell!?" He gripped my shoulder and pulled me back when I began to move forward with the rope.

"Relax! I'm just seeing if it's the same depth on all sides. I'm not keen on falling and breaking something. Mark the spot from before with tape, would you?"

Ben let go after a moment, giving me a look before doing as I asked.

I went around the hole, dragging the rope from side to side. It was the same depth in all places, but I found that it drug a little when I pulled the end through the middle. Kind of like there was something rough on the bottom catching it.

"Same depth, I think. Doesn't feel like there's any water-urk!" I felt a tug on the rope and scooted forward just a little.

"Wh-" a much stronger yank brought me into the hole. I twisted and met Ben's face moments before going beyond the nonexistent ground.

My body pulsed once, glowed faintly for a second, and I was falling once more. Back-first, seabag-first, technically, I landed and all the air was knocked out of my lungs. I began coughing violently.

"David!"

I was still coughing, so I shined my flashlight up the hole. I could see Ben, through the showering rain and darkness. But I had no idea if he would be able to see through the barrier to me. I doubted it.

"I see your light," Ben yelled down. "Are you okay?"

Couldn't he hear me coughing?

I cleared my throat as well as I could and rasped, "I'm fine!"

"David? Hey, are you alright?"

What the hell? I stood and picked up a rock, one we had thrown down earlier, and threw it up towards Ben. He jumped when it went past a certain point and turned back to the hole.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes!"

Ben waited a moment before saying, "If you're saying anything, I can't hear you."

Again, what the hell?

"Let's work out a system. Two blinks means Yes, one blink means No. Understand?"

I caught on right away and clicked my flashlight twice.

"Awesome! Are you okay?"

Two answering clicks.

"Didn't break anything?"

Took a moment to check before clicking twice.

"That's good. Any idea why I can't hear you?"

One click. I had an idea, but chances are that I wasn't going to get it through to him via flashlight clicks.

"You've still got your supplies?"

Two clicks.

"Try writing a note and sending it up."

I clicked twice, excitedly, and did as he said. It was brilliant! I scrawled out a quick note and wrapped it around a rock. I pointed the flashlight at him to catch his attention before throwing it up to his waiting hands. I had to throw it carefully to avoid getting it in the stream of rain.

He unwrapped it and read.

And promptly rolled his eyes.

"No, I am not going to start saying 'Over' at the end of every sentence."

I clicked once. Spoilsport.

"Yeah yeah. How did you fall in? You slip?"

No, I was tugged-the realization of that froze me and I searched around. There was a large patch of flowers, buttercups, I think. But those were the only other living things I saw.

"David?"

I quickly wrote out a note and threw it up.

"Something yanked you down, but it's not there? Are you sure?"

I clicked twice, though I should have only done it once. I began glancing into the darkness, uncertain of how empty it really was.

"What should we do? Should I come down?"

I flashed my light once, quickly. It wouldn't do to get us both stuck.

I sent up another note.

"Fuck that!"

Two clicks.

"I'm not about to leave you down there!"

"You've got to," I whispered while clicking once.

Ben hesitated.

"What are you going to do in the meantime? Saying that I actually do it."

I saw a tunnel to my right and sent up a note.

"Exploring? What if the thing that pulled you down is still there?"

I sent up a paper with a single word: machete.

"Fine," Ben relented. "But keep your phone handy until you get outside. I'll go get help, but I want you to call if you do manage to get out. Until then, it's doubtful you'll get service under there. I don't have any."

I sent up another note.

Ben nodded, looking more serious than I had seen him in a long time.

"You be careful, as well. If I do not hear from you in seven or eight hours after you leave, I'm bringing whoever I can to help."

I clicked twice.

"I'll leave just as soon as this rain lets off some. You better go. Be safe, or I'll kick your ass when I see you again."

I clicked twice, sent up a final note, and began walking down the tunnel, machete drawn and flashlight lighting the way.

"I'll take that bet," Ben whispered, barely audible to my ears. I grinned and kept on.

The tunnel was musty and damp-smelling. It went for about twenty meters before I found something I hadn't expected.

"Pillars?" I moved forward and confirmed that they were pillars. The pillars had some sort of symbol above it that was almost brushed away by age. I didn't recognize it, but I saw something that looked like wings with three triangles below it. There was also an area beyond the pillars, into more darkness. Seeing little other choice, I moved forward. I moved around an area that rain was coming down. Some grass grew there, but no buttercups.

I moved past it, then stopped. I felt the sensation of being watched and looked around. No one was there. I moved forward and found another doorway being held up by pillars.

Beyond those, I noticed light. Excitedly, I turned off my flashlight and moved forward.

I stopped and my eyes widened in shock. There were two stairways that led up to another doorway, this one without pillars. The area was lit from above by, from what I could tell, glowing rocks. They shined brightly, but did not give off any heat. If they did, it did nothing to warm the chill of the underground.

The stairs and walls looked to be made of stone laid in a brick-like style. I continued on.

A door was closed. To the left, a plaque stood on the wall.

"Only the fearless may proceed.

Brave ones, foolish ones.

Both walk not the middle road."

"...well that's not helpful," I muttered, looking around. I found a switch on the wall and excitedly pulled it.

Nothing happened.

I then saw the upraised panels on the ground. Six of them.

"Both walk not the middle road," I said, the words coming to me. On a whim, I stepped on the outside four and pulled the switch.

"Piece of cake!" The door opened and I went on.

I went through the next room, and the next trap, quickly. This was due to the arrows drawn next to two switched that deactivated a spike trap, allowing me to pass.

I wasn't sure what to make of the dummy in the following room. It was made of cloth and didn't look too old.

Who was living down there?

I found another sign that read, "The western room is the eastern room's blueprint."

"Who the hell came up with these hints?"

I almost ran straight into the spike traps. I looked around for a way to disable them, and found nothing. I then stepped into the water to the sides and just walked on. The water wasn't deep at all. Beyond that was this long hallway with an oddly placed pale pillar to the side.

On the other side of it, a frog-like creature jumped out and I stumbled back from the sudden movement. My chest pulsed and, to my eternal surprise, a heart came out. No, not a real heart. (I wouldn't be here, telling this story, if it was that.) It was the shape of a traditional Valentines heart or the kind that children usually draw.

It was sickeningly pinkish-red. It hung in front of my chest and I nearly missed the white projectiles that flew from the frog.

My heart did not move with me and agony went through my body when the white projectiles slammed through it. Acting on instinct, I reached out and the heart, my heart, raced back towards my hand. I held it carefully and pointed my machete at the frog creature.

"Attack me again, and I'll use this on you!"

Apparently, I intimidated it enough because it quickly hopped away. I found a few gold pieces where I stood before and didn't hesitate to take them. If the frog was going to attack me, I was going to take its gold. Fair is fair.

My heart returned to in front of my chest and slowly sank back in. My flesh rippled as it went back in and I shuddered at the sight. Flesh shouldn't ripple exactly like water. Ever.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked myself, finding myself grimacing.

Moving carefully beyond the room, I found a glowing speck among a small pile of leaves. Curious, I touched it and found that my heart, which had been aching up until that point, suddenly felt better.

On the glowing speck, the words, File Saved, appeared.

"What is this, a videogame?" I snorted and rolled my eyes. I saw a doorway to my left, but went to the right instead.

I jumped over some ground that looked really weak, pushed a rock onto a pressure plate, and read another weird sign.

Small, fearful creatures flew around occasionally, but none came close. One that did come close flew away crying when I glared at it.

Shy creatures, I suppose.

I came to a room almost full of weak flooring and had to carefully navigate it by poking my foot down on it before putting all my weight down.

Took me half an hour, but I got through.

I saw gently vibrating jell-o like things here and there, but kept my distance when I felt my heart coming out the first time I approached one. I noticed something odd when my heart came out. My body seemed lighter and able to move faster than normal. My heart appeared to only be able to move up and down a short ways away from my body, but I was able to jump superhumanely high. This helped me dodge any attacks that sprouted from the ground, I assumed. I continued onwards.

Then I came to the rock.

The first two rocks were okay. They were normal.

Then the fucking rock spoke.

I had a conversation with it, politely asking it to move on the pressure plate like the other two.

This place was becoming weirder and weirder by the minute.

I found another gleaming speck next to a table with cheese stuck to it. The speck filled me up with some sort of odd energy. Like I had downed an energy drink.

I then found a ghost and paused.

I tried to remember if I had salt in my pack, and silently cursed when I didn't. Was my machete made of steel?

I knew I should've carried around a Bible.

"Hello?"

The ghost, shaped in the form of an almost cartoonish fashion, floated a meter off of the ground and had a strange scent about him. Was that ectoplasm?

"Oh...hi."

"Sorry to interrupt you, but may I pass?" If this ghost could speak, then it had some form of intelligence. I could reason with it.

"Oh...yes...I've been in the Ruins long enough, I suppose...I'll go now...bye." He then faded out of existence and I continued on, surprised at how easy it was.

"'Come eat food made by spiders'- nope, that's where I draw the line!" I moved past the sign without a second thought. I wasn't arachnophobic, but I wasn't about to eat food made by them.

The next room had several of those frog things in it. I walked by, careful to watch them, but they only stared and ribbited.

The next room had a spike trap, but it was already deactivated. I thought it was a trick, and quickly went through. Nothing happened.

The next four rooms were a bitch. I'm sad to say that I'm not that good at puzzles. All the ones until then were simple or straightforward.

Then a decidedly circular fellow gave me the evil eye.

"I'm Loox, human! Fight me!"

I prepared my machete and said, "I really don't like fighting, but I will retaliate-"

My heart came out and I grabbed it in my left while swinging the machete into the white projectiles. They shattered on contact with the metal and dissipated a moment later.

"You asked for it!" I ran forward and slashed at Loox. A wide gash opened up on what little of its body wasn't an eye. I didn't want to blind the guy, just maim or seriously injure.

They screeched in pain and I yelled, "That's a taste of what will happen if you attack me again!"

Crying, Loox stumbled away. He left behind several gold coins. I wondered if that was some sort of tactic they employed often. Drop gold to distract predators? Well it certainly worked with me.

I went on and found a dead tree standing among a pile of leaves at its base.

Beyond it stood a brick house.

I paused at the entryway to the area, next to the tree. The house looked well-maintained and I saw light through the glass. Someone was living there in the Ruins, I think? Wasn't that what that ghost called this place?

I noticed another small gleaming speck next to the house and touched it.

"Someday, I'm going to figure out why you do that," I muttered to the File Saved that popped up.

I then noticed the words above them.

"Huh, these are the Ruins. But why is it showing up now?"

I thought for a moment more before giving up on the matter. I went to the door and knocked on it.

I heard footsteps a minute later, right before I was going to knock again. I stepped back from the door and was sure to aim the machete towards the ground, as non-threatening as a slightly bruised and dirtied eighteen-year-old with a military seabag can look.

It was a little late to try and clean up.

The door opened and I'm pretty sure that I saw a mirrored look of surprise on the goat's face. It was some sort of anthropomorphic goat-creature-thing.

Why did it have to be a goat? Anything but a _goat_.

And why did the goat have to be almost half a foot taller than my six-foot frame?

"Ah, hello," I said, breaking the silence.

She, as I soon figured out, jolted at the greeting and smiled. Her face, goat-like as it was, was surprisingly kindly. Almost mother-like.

"Hello, my name is Toriel. I am the caretaker of the Ruins."

"I'm David. I kind of fell down here and am looking for a way out. Sorry for entering without permission."

Goat or not, I was going to be polite to this lady until she gave me reason otherwise.

"Oh, it's been such a long time since the last human came. Please, come in. I was just preparing to read a little before bed."

"Er, thank you," I said gratefully. I hadn't expected someone that I had just met to let me in their home. Especially at what was, apparently, nighttime.

It was...strange.

I walked in and took a quick look at the place. There was a stairway straight ahead from the doorway, a flowerpot to the left of it, and a small bookcase to the right. A doorway to a living room type area was to the left while a hallways was to the right. The air was a warm and, surprisingly enough, only faintly smelled like Toriel. She had a slight musk around her that wasn't too unpleasant. It was the definition of homely.

"Please, let's go have a seat," Toriel closed the door behind me and began walking to the left. I followed behind and sat in the chair she gestured towards. It was at a table with three chairs and some flowers set in a pot in the middle.

"Have you ate yet?"

"Yes ma'am," I responded respectfully, out of habit. What? She was a lady and, probably, older than me.

In truth, I had only ate a banana and a granola bar in the last five hours and had drunk water to stave off the hunger since falling.

I didn't want to inconvenience her. I was just that kind of person.

My growling stomach disagreed about the type of person I was.

"I see," Toriel smiled knowingly at the faint blush that crept on my face, despite my attempts at keeping a poker face.

"Well I'm going to set out some snacks. Just wait here, child."

She turned and went into a kitchen area.

It was at that point that I realized that I still had the machete out. I quickly got the sheath that sat in the seabag out and stored it away, placing it on the floor next to my foot. The seabag sat next to it, on the right.

Toriel came back with what was definitely more than what constitutes a snack.

My stomach grumbled loudly at the sight and Toriel let out a little laugh.

"Eat up. I've already eaten." She sat down in a comfy looking chair next to a fireplace and picked up a book that sat to the side.

"Yes ma'am," I said, embarrassed. I began eating the odd, spongey, food and asked, "If I may, what is this?"

Toriel looked up from the book and said, "Snail spongecake. How is it?"

I blinked in surprise.

"I've never had snail before, but this is good," I said, surprised at how good it tasted. It had no trace of the slime or shells that snails are well known for.

Or maybe those crunchy things weren't nuts. Eh, it tasted good. And I wouldn't be there for too long.

I finished the snail spongecake in no time and turned to Toriel.

"So why are you the caretaker of the Ruins?"

"Hmm?" Toriel looked up from her book and I repeated the question. She apparently got sucked into books as much as I did.

"Someone needed to stay here, in case humans came down here."

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you call yourself? I mean your species. Are there others like you?"

Toriel smiled and set the book on a small table beside her.

"I am a Monster, and yes, there are others."

My brows furrowed and I said, "C'mon, I may have not known you for too long, but you can't be that bad. What-"

"No, no," she interrupted me. "Not the negative form of the word, I'm referring to species. You know about Monsters, yes?"

I thought back and said, "I remember that some historians are considered nutjobs for claiming that humans used to live among Monsters. We were given a little lesson about it in the second grade, I think. Weren't Monsters defeated by humans and..."

"Forced underground, yes," Toriel finished for me.

I couldn't really deny her story, seeing as the evidence was right in front of me.

"So this is where y'all have been. Why don't you leave? I mean, I fell down. Couldn't you just climb out?"

Toriel frowned and shook her head.

"We cannot. The Barrier prevents this. It has sealed us all away. Anything may enter, but only creatures with exceptionally strong souls can leave."

"But I threw rocks through it?" Had I found a weak point?

"Objects can pass without hindrance."

"What about sounds? I could hear stones hitting the ground. And Ben could see the light from the flashlight, even if he couldn't see me."

"Your voice is a weak projection of your Soul. That's why it couldn't go through. Ben? Is there another with you?"

"No, he's going to go for help once the rain stops. It probably has gone by, by now. He said he'll come after me seven or eight hours after he leaves, unless I call him." I checked my watch and saw that it had been about three hours since I left Ben. Seeing this, I frowned and continued. "Thank you for the food, but I must get going. I can't worry my friend. I have to find a way out."

I stood, slinging on my seabag.

"Wait! If you leave, you'll be going straight into danger!" Toriel stood and had a panicked look on her face. I paused and listened.

"The only way to get through the Barrier is for one to mix the souls of a Monster and a Human."

"Do you mean the heart that floats out of me when something threatening occurs?"

"Yes. That is your Soul."

"Perfect," I said, happily, catching her off-guard. "I can just find a Monster that does the same, mix our Souls for a bit, and get through. I'm sure I can convince som-"

"You don't understand, child," Toriel said, looking like a great weight had come on her. She sat and I couldn't help but copy her, setting the seabag down again.

"Monster Souls do not work like Human Souls. Human Souls can survive out of their bodies, as you have seen. Even when Humans die, their Souls linger for some time. Monsters...Monsters aren't like that. Our bodies turn to dust when we die and our Souls disappear soon after. Our Souls cannot leave our bodies or we will die."

My breath didn't come for a few seconds.

"B-but how am I supposed to leave?"

"You can't," Toriel said it in such a matter-of-fact tone that even I believed it for a moment.

Then I was angry.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to let some Barrier keep me down here if I want out," I said, resolutely, standing with my bag over my shoulder.

"I'm not going to kill someone to get out of here, but I will get out. Can you point me in the direction I can leave most easily?"

Toriel shook her head, fluffy white ears swinging gently. I thought it was a negative response, but it was actually in a forlorn manner.

"Asgore's castle. Behind the throne room. That's where the Barrier stands and where all Monsters came in from. You will find a way out there."

"Thank you. Is that some place in the Ruins?"

Toriel shook her head once again.

"Come with me." She stood and went out of the room. I followed her down the stairs and through a long tunnel. She stopped in front of a large door that had the same symbol from her clothing on its face. The same one I had seen earlier.

"This is the entrance to the rest of the underground. You will find Asgore's castle on the other side, at the far end."

"Thank you, Toriel. I will never forget this," I smiled and she returned one that was laced with what seemed like grief.

"Be careful. Return if you have a change of heart," Toriel said before turning around and walking quickly back the way we had come.

I looked to the door and steeled myself. I had to hurry and get to the Barrier. I would figure a way to get through it on the way.

Somehow.

* * *

Reviews feed the Soul!


	2. Chapter 2

What's it Called? Chap 2

Warning: graphic character death.

* * *

Chapter 2

I pushed open the door, the second one. The one I had found after going through the first and through a dark room with some grass in the middle.

What was up with that? And why did I feel eyes on me, again, when I went through?

No matter. I closed the door behind me and felt the cold immediately sting my ears.

"Snow?" I asked, unbelieving of the crunch under my feet. Small flakes fell all around me in a slow, chaotic pattern. I looked around and saw a path leading away from the door through dense trees. I wouldn't be moving past those. Next to the door was a snow covered bush with a blinking light.

Wait...what?

I got a closer look and realized that the light came from a camera pointed at the door. At me.

I waved at the camera and said, "Hello, mysterious watching person. I mean you no harm. I just want to leave." The camera didn't respond, and I saw no reaction, so I stood and left.

As I walked along the path, I felt the eyes on me again.

A crack had me spin around and I saw a branch, now broken, laying on the path. I had stepped over it a few moments earlier.

Something broke it.

"Who's there?" I called out, listening carefully, machete out of its sheath and ready. I heard nothing and began walking the way I was going originally. Now and again, I would peek back only to find nothing.

I crossed this bridge with what appeared to be bars blocking every other part except the bridge itself.

I silently questioned its purpose as I made my way across, the wood squeaking a little as I went past.

"Heyo," I heard a greeting from ahead and turned to see a small stand to the path's left.

"Hello," I approached carefully and was surprised to see a grinning skeleton sitting at the stand. He had a toothy grin going on that didn't seem to change and his eyes were simple white dots in the sockets. He seemed short. Only about five, five and a half feet tall. He was also a little round, but that may have been due to his jacket.

"You a human?" The skeleton had an almost northern accent to his words.

"I am. But I mean nobody any harm."

"Good. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans. Buuuut," he leaned the chair he was sitting in back on two legs in what was obviously a relaxed position, "I'm not really one to capture anyone. My brother, on the other hand, is a human-hunting fanatic!"

I frowned at the news.

"Do you know of any way I can avoid him? I really don't want to hurt anyone, but I'll fight back if I think my life is in danger."

"Hmm," the skeleton hummed in thought. "Nope. Can't really see any way for you to avoid him. Just humor him with his puzzles and he won't really hurt you."

I relaxed at those words.

"Thanks for the advice. The name is David."

"Sans. I would shake your hand, buuuut I'm on break."

I rolled my eyes and, with a grin, whispered, "Lazybones."

I didn't whisper it quietly enough, because his eyes flicked over to me and I feared that I had struck a nerve.

"Pffff," Sans began laughing and made his chair tip over, sending him to the ground, where he continued to chortle.

"Are you okay?" I asked the laughing skeleton. That fall looked painful, even with the snow's cushioning.

He chuckled a little more before nodding and wiping away a tear.

"Hehe, don't worry, kid," my eye twitched at the name, "I'm fine. Snow harm in a little fall." He held up a little of the white stuff as he said it.

I blinked.

"Snurk!" I chuckled at the pun, despite how tame it was.

"I can respect someone that enjoys puns," Sans said, standing and wiping the snow from his jacket. I saw that he wore slippers and automatically assumed that he couldn't feel cold.

That had me wondering if he could feel anything. Any sensations? He could obviously feel emotions, but was that the extent of what he could feel? What about pain? Pleasure? Did his bones ever itch? So many questions.

But no time to ask.

"I'm glad that we get along so well," I said, dropping the grin from my face somewhat.

"I was told that the Barrier is at Asgore's castle. Mind pointing me that way?"

Sans didn't drop his grin. I'm not sure that he's even able.

"Sure, pal. Just follow this path. You'll get to Snowdin Town eventually and you can ask someone there for directions. I've got to go. See you at Grillby's." Sans waved at me over his shoulder while walking down the path.

Towards the way I had come.

"Ah, isn't Snowdin Town that way?" I pointed the same way he had pointed only moments before. As well as Grillby's, whatever that was.

"Taking a shortcut. See you there."

I shrugged and began walking down the path. I found this box with a sign that confirmed what I thought: it was a box.

Stimulating, truly.

The part that confused me was when it said that the box would appear later.

"I'm calling bull," I said and began to move away.

I stopped and looked at the box again. I stared at it silently before getting out some paper and writing some stuff on it and putting it in the, up until that point, empty box. I closed the stupid thing and continued on my way. I didn't bother taking the path to the left, seeing as Sans directed me in the direction of the way I was headed.

I almost missed that gleam in the snow. I touched it and found the name of the place idiotic.

"Box Road. Who the hell names these places?"

"Our glorious king!" A voice rang out and I felt my Soul come out. I immediately grabbed it with my left and turned to the newcomer.

They were about four feet tall and had a cone of ice on their head. Their nose looked like a drill, almost.

"I'm Icecap!" They had a teenager's tone, but I couldn't tell what gender they were.

"David. I really don't want to fight you."

"Tough! We need your Soul to leave this place!" Their eyes narrowed and they lifted up their arms. Chunks of ice flew towards myself and I only had time to move my Soul so it didn't get hit.

The ice went through my body, leaving it mostly untouched. My Soul ached at the contact with my body, but felt nothing like a direct hit to my Soul normally felt like.

"I would normally call bull on that logic, but I'm not complaining about it now!" Apparently Monster attacks didn't affect my body too much. Only my Soul. So if I kept my Soul safe, I would be safe.

Good to know.

"I'm honestly not looking to fight."

Spikes made of ice jetted up from the ground and I maneuvered my body and Soul around them, jumping and sliding around in the snow, before running towards Icecap.

Judging from Icecap's expression, he hadn't expected that.

"H-hey! Don't come any closer!" They sent more ice at me and I slashed at the ones that I couldn't dodge, breaking them apart. My Soul felt some aching when shards brushed against it.

"I-I quit! Mercy!" they shrieked, throwing gold at me and running away at a sprint. I slowed and waited until my Soul returned to my chest before picking up the gold. I was breathing a little heavily and mist formed in front of my face with each exhale.

I felt my Soul ache, even after the battle's end. I grit my teeth against the unfamiliar pain. It was worse in how I had never felt my Soul hurt before. Not really.

I was passing by the gleaming speck and decided on trying it.

One File Saved later, I was feeling fine.

"Whoever thought it was funny to shove me in a real-life videogame is going to get a machete in their chest," I muttered without heat. This was due to the ache in my Soul having disappeared.

I followed the way that Icecap had gone, albeit slower. I found another stand with a sign that I didn't bother to read. The second stand, however, I did stop when I saw movement behind it.

"Heh, gotta not move."

I blinked and continued forward, intent on moving past while whoever it was did whatever it was that they were doing.

"Movement!"

A dog-like creature leapt in front of me and I had no time to dodge the blue blur that was his sword slicing through my recently emerged Soul.

I froze, expecting agony to erupt from the direct attack.

But nothing came.

"Where-where are you!? Keep moving! I can only see moving things!"

I kept stock still and allowed the canine to swing his blue-tinted swords wildly, sometimes coming in contact with my Soul but never damaging it.

After a bit of this act, the canine squinted around, looking left and right rapidly.

"W-was there no movement? Movement! Move!"

I kept still and silent.

"Erg, I'm gonna need some dog treats for this."

He turned back to his stand and went back behind it. After I was certain that he couldn't see me, I began moving down the path again. I found a sign...in the middle of a gigantic puddle of frozen, and slippery, ice. After slip-sliding my way over, I read it.

I then was tempted to chop it up in very small pieces.

"I think anyone with eyes will realize that there is ice in all four directions," I snarked, beginning to shiver as the cold began to really affect me. My jacket had been worn to counteract windy mountain air and cold night air, not snow. My shoes, designed to be tough and long-lasting, didn't do much when trudging through snow. I had zipped up my jacket, put on other shirts, and flipped up my hood. Despite my constant movement and these precautions, I was feeling myself begin to shiver badly.

A southern boy doesn't do so well in snow when unprepared.

"HUMAN!"

I jumped at the yell and looked up to see another skeleton in the path ahead.

"PREPARE TO BE CAPTURED!"

I blinked and said, "You know, one usually doesn't give up his plan to the one he plans to capture."

The skeleton, presumably Sans' brother, was dressed...oddly. he had on a red cape, red gloves (almost boxing gloves), red boots. The only thing not red on him was his own white body and his blue (anatomically incorrect) hips.

He was broad shouldered and a little more than two meters tall. (Seven feet, I would say.)

"AH, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A FAIR CHANCE AGAINST THE GREAT PAPYRUS."

I realized that that wasn't even him yelling. That was just the way he spoke. Honestly, it was a bit annoying. My friends usually consist of quieter people and he was the opposite of most of them.

"Umm, thanks?"

Papyrus posed, his fists on his hips, and grinned while saying, "YOU ARE WELCOME, HUMAN. NOW, I MUST GO PREPARE THE PUZZLES. PREPARE TO BE DEFEATED!"

"Alright."

"NYAHAHAHA!" He then raced down the path at a speed that kicked up snow in his wake.

I shook my head and continued down the path, wondering when this place was going to make sense.

I heard Papyrus screaming up ahead a few minutes later and began jogging to see what was happening. He may have just confessed to wanting to capture me, but I didn't want the guy hurting himself.

"WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING?" Papyrus walked forward onto this large area that had been cleared of snow and an orb he was holding flashed red and sent out a shock, causing him to yelp.

"What are you doing?" I asked him from a safe distance.

"AH, HUMAN!" Papyrus said, spinning around to face me. "JUST ON TIME! I HAVE A PUZZLE READY FOR YOU."

I thought for a moment before saying, "You're looking kind of fried right now. Are you sure we shouldn't get you to a doctor or something?"

It was the truth. He did have a singed look all about him. Small wisps of smoke curled up from his extravagant clothes.

"NONESENSE! I HAVE NEVER FELT MORE HEALTHY."

I was honestly worried because he was slumped over a little and his breathing looked labored.

(How I could tell his breathing looked labored when he didn't even have a stomach? Don't ask.)

I thought about how Sans, who had helped me, would react if his brother got hurt. He seemed fond of Papyrus, so I doubt he wanted him injured.

"How about a wager?"

"HMM? A WAGER, YOU SAY?"

"Yeah. If I manage to solve your puzzle, you have to go see your brother and he has to decide whether you see a doctor or not. If I can't, then I'll continue to do your puzzles. Sound fair?"

"HMM." Papyrus turned around and thought furiously. After almost a full minute, he twisted around and said, "DEAL!"

"Good. Now what is this puzzle?"

"HERE, TAKE THIS," Papyrus threw the orb up in the air and sprinted to the other side of the stamped down snow. I noticed that the orb crackled with electricity as he ran across and jumped back to avoid touching the orb. It fell to the ground and stopped giving off electricity as Papyrus exited the area.

"THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRIC MAZE. IF YOU TOUCH ONE OF THE WALLS, THAT ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY SHOCK, NYEHE! I, AH, ACTUALLY FORGOT THE PATTERN. SO YOU WILL HAVE NO CHANCE OF WINNING!"

I carefully picked up the orb and studied the 'maze.' The area had been cleared of snow. But why? I saw the displaced snow scattered about, so it hadn't been melted or anything.

I looked a little closer and grinned. The ground had extremely thin, almost unnoticeable lines running along it.

Wires that had been implanted. I remember someone that had done about the same thing with their dog so that the canine couldn't get too close to the hog pen. The dog would get shocked by something on their collar if they went over the wire implanted in the ground.

After finding the secret, I was easily able to navigate the maze and handed the orb back to Papyrus upon finishing.

"C'mon. Let's go find your brother."

Papyrus acting astonished, congratulated me heartily, and began leading me on. He had these dogs in armor-yes, in armor, not attack me. There was also this dog couple that were very affectionate towards one another and I understood why a sign warned me about Dog Marriage.

Monsters aren't scary, they're just plain weird. Eventually, after crossing a bridge and giving me a heart attack because of the heights involved, we arrived at Snowdin.

It was a quaint little place, Snowdin town. The whole town had a certain cheer to it and most went around with a smile on their face. It made me put my machete in its sheath. I stuck it, the end of it at least, in my left pocket and had the rest of it hide in the inside of my jacket.

I wasn't dropping my guard entirely. I wasn't foolish enough to do that.

"BROTHER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE COME!" Papyrus pushed open the door and effectively captured the attention of everyone in the place.

Sans, who sat at the bar area of Grillby's, waved over his shoulder at Papyrus. Lazy sucker didn't even turn around.

I walked past Papyrus and sat down next to Sans in the seat at the end of the bar table. A flaming man, well, mainly just a giant flame...a flame roughly in the shape of a guy, came over to us. (I questioned how his clothes and glasses didn't melt or burn.)

"Welcome to Grillby's, I'm the owner. What can I get you?" The bartender asked in a smooth and deep tone.

I took a quick look at the menu, made sure I had enough money, then ordered myself a burger and some water.

"Hey, kid," Sans said tearing his eyes from the television stuck on the wall over the bar. From what I saw, it was some sort of robot singing and surrounded by lots of flashing lights and extravagant explosions.

"Hey, Sans. I brought your brother. Might want to take a look at him." Grillby placed my order in front of me and I went ahead and paid him before quickly beginning to eat. I swear that I heard Sans say, "Bone appetite."

"You okay, Paps?"

Papyrus, who had sat next to Sans on his other side, grinned as he declared, "NEVER BETTER!"

"Hmm mm," Sans said before pushing something over to Papyrus. "Just eat up, would ya?"

"OH, WOWIE! THANKS SANS." Papyrus ate whatever Sans gave him and I took a look.

Papyrus looked remarkably less singed with every bite he took out of what Sans gave him.

"What did you give him?" I asked Sans, curious of what could possibly heal someone so quickly.

"Just some Monster Candy I had on hand."

"Candy? How can candy heal someone of burns so quickly?"

Sans blinked in surprise before saying, "Haven't you noticed how Monster food affects you? It's very potent and focuses on healing the Soul, which is what monsters are made of. Humans have their physical body separate from their Souls, but Monster bodies are also their Souls. That's why Monster food is so useful for healing."

I nodded slowly and continued eating the burger. It was very good, but I didn't savour it. I was rushed and stood to leave only a few minutes later.

"I'll see you later," I said to the skeleton brothers and moved to leave. I was stopped when Papyrus grabbed my arm and stopped me with a surprisingly strong grip.

"WHAT IS THE RUSH, HUMAN?"

I glanced at my watch. Almost four hours had passed. I needed to go.

"I have to get out and contact my friend before he follows me down here. Maybe we'll see each other later, but I have to go now." I pulled out of Papyrus' grip and exited Grillby's.

"Pal," Sans appeared around the corner of the Librarby and began walking next to me, hands in his jacket pockets.

I slowed a little to meet his pace.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for sending Papyrus my way. He can sometimes push himself a little too hard."

"Not a problem. Is this the way to Asgore's castle?" I pointed forward the way we had been walking and Sans nodded.

"You're wanting to get through the Barrier, yeah?"

"Yes, I am. I need to stop my friend from coming down here. How long does it usually take someone to reach the castle?"

Sans thought for a moment before saying, "Usually three hours or so if they walk."

"And if I run?"

"It'll probably take you the same amount of time, seeing as Monsters will still try to fight you."

"Why are Monsters fighting me, anyways? I mean, I know that Humans trapped them down here and everything, but that was centuries ago."

"It's Undyne's orders, usually. She's gotten it into everyone's head that, if we see a Human, we should try and slow them down and alert the royal guards. They've probably been told, or will be told, sometime soon."

"Tell me the truth. Should I worry about them killing me?"

"Tibia honest, absolutely."

I grit my teeth at the news while rolling my eyes at the pun.

"Thanks for the news," I said, drawing my machete as the snow changed to dirt. "What is this place called?"

"Waterfall," Sans said, moments before the sounds of, yes, a waterfall appeared.

"Who named these placed?"

"King Asgore. It's uh, not one of his talents."

"No kidding."

We walked for a ways before Sans said that he would see me later and began walking back.

I went through Waterfall for almost an hour before stopping. I looked at my watch and sat down.

I had a decision to make. It had been about four and a half hours since I had left Ben. If I turned around right then, I would make it back to where I had started about the same time that Ben came down with whatever help he convinced to come with him.

I pondered under the leaves of a large flowering plant to avoid the thin mist that the entire area was covered in. I didn't want to know how a mountain had so many different climates inside it.

I considered the pros and cons of going back and moving forward.

"Go back!" I jumped as the flower above me shouted. A Monster I had passed had told me that the azure flowers were called Echo Flowers and repeated the last thing that they had heard. I hadn't said anything since sitting down, so someone else had said it. It was a high pitched voice, like someone small would posses. A child, maybe?

If this wasn't a sign, I didn't know what was.

I shouldered my seabag and readied my machete once more. Until that point, I had only had to ward off one or two Monsters. Others had been intimidated by my machete and had avoided coming close.

* * *

I was going back through Snowdin, machete sheathed, when I saw Papyrus again.

"HUMAN! BACK SO SOON?"

Papyrus fell into step beside me, thankfully walking at my fast pace.

"I won't find a way to the surface before my friend comes back with help, so I'm going back to where I fell and am going to wait for him."

"OH. ARE YOU SURE? IT'S GETTING VERY LATE."

I looked around and noticed that Snowdin, usually lively, had hardly anyone outside and most lights were out in houses.

"It's not very late on the surface. And I have to meet with him so he doesn't get lost or anything. That way, we can get through the Barrier together. Why are you up this late?"

"I DON'T SLEEP MUCH," Papyrus said and went a few steps without speaking.

"It was good to see you, again. I'll try to introduce you and Ben when I bring him through."

"WOWIE! TWO HUMANS IN ONE DAY. I'LL HAVE TO TELL UNDYNE. SHE'LL BE SO EXCITED!"

I flinched and started to ask him to not do that when he already turned and was running the opposite way.

"Well damn," I muttered before picking up my pace a little. My legs and feet were aching from the almost non-stop movement I had been doing that day. It was almost a relief to walk into the snow and have it numb the pain a little.

I spent three hours getting to the door that opened up into the snow. I found Sans leaning against it and laughing.

"Sans?"

"Oh?" Sans stood and wiped away a glowing blue tear from his eye.

"Knock knock," Sans said, actually knocking on the door as he said it.

"Who's there?" I heard Toriel ask, voice expectant.

"A Human."

"A Human, who?"

"A Human by the name of David."

Silence. Then an audible click came from the door and Sans pushed himself off with a look of shock.

"Hey, Toriel," I greeted her, machete sheathed and hidden.

"You came back?" It hurt to hear her voice so hopeful.

"My friend will be coming down soon and I can't just let him get lost down here. I would love to introduce the two of you."

Toriel nodded, smiling widely.

"Queen Dreemurr?" Sans asked, his expression one of surprise.

"Queen?" I raised an eyebrow at Toriel, who shook her head, frowning.

"Not any more. But it is nice to meet you. I am Toriel, now the caretaker of the Ruins."

"Name's Sans. It's punderful to finally meet you."

I rolled my eyes at Sans, who was already cracking jokes. That's something I liked about the skeleton. He always had a joke ready and was prepared to laugh.

Toriel laughed for a minute and, with a smile, opened the door to let me through.

I told her that I would go ahead, so I could explain everything, and that I would meet her back at her home. She gave her okay and I was gone.

I used the energy from the gleaming speck outside of Toriel's home to run the whole way to where I had come down.

I was turning into the room with the grass, the first one, when a voice piped up.

"Too late." I looked down and was surprised to see a yellow flower talking. Not too surprised, but a little.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, slowing my pace a little.

"Little brat tried stepping on me," the high pitched tone turned menacing. I stopped. That voice. I had heard it before. The same one that came from the Echo Flower.

"Wait, where's Ben?"

" _You'll see~_ " the flower sang, disappearing into the dirt a moment later.

I felt a chill up my spine and ran past the pillars and to the right. The light from a flashlight blinded me and I felt relief even as I held up a hand to block the light.

"Oi, Ben!" I greeted him, walking closer. I was still blinded by the flashlight, so I didn't see how he was being held up until I was a yard away from him.

"Ben?" I whispered, eyes wide and shocked. His only response was a wet cough.

It's a wonder he could even do that much, with the vines stabbing through him. Four other spiked vines held his limbs, causing so many lacerations that the ground would have already been covered in blood even without the holes in his chest.

"Ben?" I moved forward, moving past the vines and moving uselessly.

"Dav," I heard Ben say and came close to his mouth.

"What did this?"

"Flow-" he coughed up some blood, sending a little on my clothes. I understood him, regardless.

A flower. A fucking flower strung him up like some macabre art piece and left him to die.

Ben sagged and a light began emanating from his chest.

"No," I whispered, dropping the machete and grabbing the emerging Soul. I shoved it back. It went in, before pushing itself out once again. I dropped my flashlight and used both hands.

"Go back in, damn you! You. Are. Not. Allowed. To. **Die!** " I pushed harder with each word until I finally collapsed, Soul held to my chest. I looked up at Ben, his body. His corpse.

"Bullshit. You can't die because of some damn buttercup. I won't allow this." I stood up on shakey legs, shoving his flashlight in my pocket and holding my machete in my right with his Soul in my left. I left my seabag where it lay.

"Did you like my _present_?"

My Soul came out and I fit in in my left palm, right next to Ben's. My body shivered with warmth from the closeness of it.

"I'm going to pluck those petals from your head and bury you with him," I said, running towards it a moment later. Vines, easily the size of my leg, burst from the ground. I danced around them, sometimes having to throw myself to the side to protect the Souls.

"I was extra careful to make sure he didn't die too quickly," the flower said, his face transformed from when I first saw him.

I saw red. It was my blood. A vine had stabbed right through my hand and into the Souls. I had just enough time to see Ben's Soul, already wavering, shatter. Mine followed moments after. The world went black, the flower's laughter all that remained.

* * *

Yes, I know you want to know what happens next. But leaving a review might make the next scene so much more interesting, yeah?


	3. Chapter 3

What's it Called? Chap 3

* * *

Chapter 3

I was standing back in front of Toriel's home.

I breathed in, then collapsed. I was shaking. I barely felt the sting of falling.

I had been dead. Everything had gone black. For a second, I saw a glimmer of the Beyond. Why was I not still dead?

I felt a yank after seeing the glimmer and the words File Loaded, appeared before me a moment before I opened my eyes.

I stood, still shaking. I began making my way forward. My seabag fell to the ground behind me. It would only slow me down.

If this was some other force's way of giving me a second chance, I wasn't going to waste it. My muscles burned as I ran-no, tore my way to where Ben was.

Would be.

He had to be there. I just had to get there. Frog Monsters quickly got out of my way as I went past and nothing had time to challenge me.

"Flower freak!" I screamed, rounding the corner of the tunnel I had found Ben in.

Two faces, one of them Ben's, turned towards me. Vines were reaching for him.

"Don't touch him, flower," I slashed at the vines that headed my way and Ben was shook from his shock. He followed my lead, slashing at the vines.

We kept doing this, making our way back towards the other room. Away from the demon flower. Avoiding his vines. Getting cut.

It worked, until it didn't.

"David!" I suppose it was only likely that I would overswing and let a vine wrap around my arm. The spikes dug into my flesh, eliciting a scream from yours truest.

I was questioning why my Soul hadn't come out, granting my body the usual intangibility, but the vines quickly wrapped around me and cut out all other thought.

Squish.

Back in front of Toriel's home.

A deep, shuddering breath. Then I was off.

Stabbed. Blood loss. Crushed. Bashing. I died in so many ways.

Sometimes I died. Other times, Ben died. Sometimes the bastard killed us at the same time.

We kept _dying dying and dying_. Until I had enough.

"Flowey," I growled, having learned the prick's name at one point. "I've had enough of this. You've already killed me so many freaking times that I've lost count.

The vines, poised to kill Ben, paused.

"You know about the Loads? Flowey asked, seemingly surprised." His jagged mouth had vanished for his more 'civilized' face.

"I know that you've killed the two of us plenty of different way and that I keep coming back each time. So if that's what you mean, then yeah."

The vines smashed Ben and I frowned. Yes, it still hurt to see my friend die like that. Terribly. But that had been at least the fiftieth time seeing it, so the sting had died down a little.

Flowey watched my reactions and grinned.

"You are telling the truth. How, _interesting_. I think I would like to see what happens next." Then Flowey and the vines all sunk beneath the ground.

My world froze.

Had I just screwed up big time? Ben's Soul came out and I gathered it in my hand.

"Oi, Flowey! Come and kill me already!"

Nothing.

"Flowey!" I shouted into the darkness before running out of the room, searching for the flower. My heart rate rose as I realized that the flower really had left.

I began shaking. Ben's death seemed a lot more permanent without my own impending doom hanging over me. I considered my machete for a moment and immediately sheathed it.

I was too cowardly for something like that.

So, seeing nothing I could do, I made my way to Toriel's home. I brushed against the gleaming speck and chased my exhaustion away. It did nothing to banish the numbness I felt, but my energy returned and what little damage had been done to my Soul vanished. I didn't consider the words File Saved with more than a passing thought.

The door opened after a knock and I extended Ben's Soul towards Toriel with a single word: "Help."

Toriel's face seemed to lose all color, despite already being white.

"What happened?" She carefully pulled me in and sat me down next to the fire. The chair was comfy, and the fire was pleasantly warm, but neither really registered.

"Monsters have magic, right?" I asked Sans, who was sitting where I had sat at the table before. Toriel had stepped out of the room for some reason. I think she mentioned something about getting some pie.

Sans nodded, his normal grin obviously not showing amusement. I guess it was just stuck like that 24/7.

"Then you have healing magic, yeah? You can shove this back in Ben and-"

" _Stop_ , pal," Sans interrupted me. "Monsters have tried messing with Souls before. We've never succeeded in bringing someone back. Not really."

My hand, which gripped the armrest, tightened. My left, holding his Soul, didn't dare squeeze. I had seen his, and my own, Soul shatter far too many times to not know how fragile it was.

"Then go ahead and kill me so I can Load or whatever it is," I said, standing and tossing him my machete. I didn't see any weapons on him, so I guess he would just-

"Did you just say, 'Load?'" Sans asked letting the machete fall to the ground. The pinpricks of white that served as his eyes. We're gone. Was that his version of closing his eyes? Or was it something else?

"Yes, I said Load. Or maybe the term is Reset. I don't know! The Flower didn't explain things to me before killing Ben," I held up his Soul once again. "So just hurry up and kill me. If things don't go so well, then you can just use my Soul to help get yourself out of the underground or whatever."

"I'm not about to kill you, pal," Sans said, his lights reappearing.

"Fine, I'll go find another Monster to do it for me!"

I ran past a protesting Toriel on my way down to the door. I ran out into the snow and found Icecap again. I insulted him some and he stabbed my Soul to pieces when I ran at him barehanded.

I was in front of Toriel's home. Ben's Soul was in my hand.

"It's too late," Sans stood next to me, looking at Ben's Soul. I hadn't heard him come outside.

"What? But you were inside?" I protested weakly. Why was I holding Ben's Soul? This wasn't supposed to happen-

Then it clicked. File Saved. File Loaded. This obeyed the rules of a videogame.

"I overwrote the saved file," I whispered, realization making my heart crumble.

"I'm not sure what that means, but yeah. You Saved. Now this is where you will go until you Save again."

I shook my head, then began sprinting.

I found Ben's body. He had been crushed. The blood hadn't had time to even begin to dry.

Phalanges closed around my shoulder.

"Sorry, kid. You said that the flower did this?"

I nodded. I was numb, but a painful feeling was beginning to well up. My face was wet. I licked my lips.

Tasted salty.

* * *

Sans helped me dig a hole. Bones shot up from the ground and separated the earth. His eye glowed blue and Ben-Ben's body was lowered into the ground. I asked him to put Ben under the flowers, right where the sunlight hit. I remembered that Ben never likes buttercups.

They made him sneeze.

I made a cross motion with my hand and began walking away.

"You okay?"

"Not at all," I said, honestly. My throat had loosened. Now all I felt was determination. That, mixed with anger.

"I guess you want answers."

"Not really." I said, somewhat honestly. "Right now, I just want a fucking drink."

I had never drank before. But I had seen people drink. I knew it would knock them out. Make them forget. Something.

I needed that.

Phalanges wrapped around my arm and the world went black. Moments after, the world returned and Sans let go of me.

"Shortcut," Sans said simply, walking into Grillby's.

The bar was just about empty. Only a few guard dogs, outfitted in weaponry and armor, sat around playing some sort of card game.

I sat in front of Grillby, ordered a glass of something, then downed it in one go.

I began coughing violently and the small amount of regret that came was drowned by the artificial warm feeling the alcohol brought on.

I hated it. I needed more.

Grillby left the bottle in front of me with a shot glass and moved away to give me space. I carefully kept Ben's Soul in my left hand while I poured with my right.

"It's never an easy thing to lose a friend," Sans spoke up from my right, pouring some of the bottle into a glass of his own. I thought about protesting, but I really couldn't dredge up the power to do so.

"I've actually felt what you're feeling. Hundreds of times. I've seen my own brother cut down."

"But he's not dead," I pointed out, rather obviously.

"He was. This little brat, one with the same ability as you, comes down here and killed him. She does that sometimes. I make sure to make her die painfully every time."

I blinked, his words still able to make sense to my shock and alcohol addled brain.

"Someone has the same ability as me? You mean that you can't Load or Reset or any of that crap?"

Sans shook his head and tipped the glass back. His mouth opened just a little from the bottom to allow the liquid to enter.

"Most Monsters don't have a clue about all that. I'm one of the few, maybe one of the only. I remember past timelines that have been Reset. The timeline was really erratic when I made my way to Tori's house. I assume that was you?"

I nodded, swallowing the next shot.

"What do you mean when you said sometimes?"

"I she doesn't come down to the underground, sometimes. Or at least I never see her. Sometimes the timeline Resets before I see her or hear about her."

"How do you know when the timeline has been Reset?"

"You usually get a sense of deja-vu. You'll look around and think, 'I've been here before. I did something something here.' At least, that's how it is with me. I'll look around and go with the flow until the memories come flooding back."

"That must get irritating. How long has she been doing this?"

I nearly did a spit-take when he answered with, "I stopped bothering to count after the second century or so."

"Centuries!" I whisper-shouted.

"Not in real time, though. Just collectively."

I sat back and let this sink in, along with some more of the drink. I was feeling a pleasant buzz in the bottom of my stomach and the knot in my heart wasn't so constricting.

We began talking about other things at that point. I was the one mainly talking. I spoke of how Ben was an outdoorsy nut. How I enjoyed drawing. Our plans for college. Why we had climbed Mt. Ebott. I spoke of everything and nothing, taking a shot now and again.

"Human!" Until I was interrupted by the azure spear slamming into the bar to the left of my stool. I took a look at the spear. It glowed a pretty blue color and small waves of energy ran along it. I then looked at the thrower.

A tall figure in black armor stood in the doorway of Grillby's. Their armor covered just about everything and I couldn't tell anything about them.

They had another glowing spear in their hands, held in such a way that told me it could be thrown in an instant.

"You're letting the heat out," I pointed at the snowflakes beginning to fall in the restaurant and the figure took a moment to look down.

There was a pause where everything was silent. Then the figure stepped forward and let the door swing shut behind them.

"I have come for your Soul!"

I turned around and patted the stool to my left.

"Let's drink first. We can always kill each other later. Grillby, another glass, please?"

The flaming Monster sat a glass in the spot next to me and I poured the alcohol in. I filled the glass that Sans held up and my own before hearing the figure move forward. I half expected a spear in my back, and was pleasantly surprised to find the figure sit down.

They were about six and a half feet tall with their armor on. I saw that she was actually about six and a quarter feet when she set the helmet on the floor next to her.

"Heh, maybe one drink, Human. Hey, Sans."

"Sup, Dyne."

"Undyne, I presume?"

"Yup. Huh, guess you've already heard of me!" She shot her glass back and I took a moment to study her. Blue skinned, smell of fish, long red ponytail, and an eyepatch. Shark teeth as well. Definitely not someone I wanted to piss off. Her voice oozed confidence and her smirk told me she knew it did.

"Yeah. Papyrus speaks highly of you," I said, off-handedly.

"You've met him?"

"He tried to capture me with a puzzle." I had mostly relaxed around Undyne by that point. We talked for a bit.

Then the bottle ran out.

"I did say one drink, Human. Now let's go." The spear made a reappearance and I held up a waiting hand.

"How many Souls did you say you needed to get out?" She had spoken on the topic passionately and often as we drank, but the details were blurry.

"Seven. Seven Human Souls."

"How many do you need?"

"Just one more. Yours! Now-"

I held my hand up again.

"Here," I opened my fist and revealed Ben's Soul.

"He's dead. I'm sure he wouldn't mind it if you used it to escape. He was always stupidly charitable like that," I said, staring at the glowing heart.

There was a moment and the faint of hum that came from her spears silenced.

"Thanks, k-" I yanked his Soul out of the way when she reached for it.

"I only have one condition. I want to present it to your King." My voice was resolute and I looked her right in her remaining eye. "I want to look him in the eyes when I hand this over. Until then, this does not leave my grasp. Understand?"

Undyne's face scrunched up in anger.

"Either accept this offer, or we'll fight and I can't guarantee that you'll get either of our Soul's." I removed the machete from its sheath and pointed it towards Ben's Soul. I wasn't sure if I could actually do it, but I wasn't about to let her know that.

The tension racked up in that moment and every Monster in armor stood and drew weaponry.

Sans broke the tension with a burp and said, "I just have to point out that he's giving you a good deal. You might want to take it to heart."

Undyne relaxed her posture and she barked out, "Fine!"

"Good. Let's go. How much do I owe you, Grillby?"

Grillby waved his hand and he said, "Consider this one on the house."

I nodded my thanks and moved towards the exit.

* * *

Sans made sure I didn't stumble over anything as we went along.

"Sorry about this. Never had alcohol before," I apologized.

"Nah, it's fine. It'll pass. How are you feeling?"

"A little woozy. Kind of numb. Mission accomplished. Tell me about the flower," I said, moving to avoid a puddle. Rain fell and hit the umbrella I held above me with faint plip plops. They told me that it rained constantly in Waterfall.

They also told me that the glowing fungus and flowers were not illusions. I'm never eating one of those glowing mushrooms.

I think one of them spoke.

Behind us walked Papyrus and Undyne while a dog in gigantic armor, Greater Dog as Sans said, led us while panting excitedly.

"The flower has the same ability as you and the brat," Sans said quietly. Not that he had to. Papyrus was speaking loudly to Undyne, who grinned and bore it. Undyne was watching me like a shark that had scented blood, hardly looking away while she spoke with Papyrus.

"What's Flowey's issue? Did he not get enough hugs as a seed?"

"He's a psychopathic and Soulless being that is playing an eternal game with the brat. Sometimes the brat goes against him, sometimes they play together. They both are crazy, though. You can never tell what kind of move they're in until after they're about to kill you."

"How many times have they killed you?"

"The flower? Not very many times. I'm too lazy to get in his way, most times. I only step in when the brat kills Papyrus or looks like she's having too much fun."

"Is that all she does? Kills everything?"

"Not all the time. When she first came down here, she was very nice. She didn't hurt a single Monster. Befriended everyone. Everything was fine for awhile. Then she got not so nice." Sans' eyes disappeared and his voice dropped into a dangerous tone. "She began to injure. Then kill. Then she wouldn't stop. No one could really stop her. Even I only managed to kill her for several centuries until she figured out how to avoid me entirely."

"Ever killed Flowey?"

My grip on my machete, which was held in my right hand, tightened. I had never really felt the urge to end something's life as intensely as much as I did then. Especially when I knew he would probably just come back after I killed him, much like I did any time I died.

"Once or twice. I sometimes got the chance to help the brat, back when she was still good-"

"Hold up for a minute!"

We slowed to a stop and I glanced behind us. Undyne was shedding her armor and setting it neatly on the side of the path. I felt a sting in my eye and hissed as I wiped at it. Some sweat had rolled down my face.

"Did it get really warm all of a sudden?" I asked, the air having heated up at some point recently.

"Sorry bud, I don't think she's your type," Sans said.

It took me a moment. Then I sputtered, "Not that! I'm not insinuating 'that!'"

"Insinuating what, Human?" The fishy lady in question, now without armor, marched over to us. She wore a grey tank top and black military pants, completed with black combat boots.

"Nothing important. Are you done?"

Undyne scoweled at me, growled an affirmative, and we were off again.

I'm not sure if it was because it was Monster alcohol, or if alcohol just didn't hit me as hard as most, but my mind was mostly clear by the time we passed into Hotland.

"Please let someone else choose the names when you get to the surface," I told the group after learning the name of the place filled with pools of magma. (I was quick to correct Sans, who made a pun about lava, that they were actually pools of magma because they hadn't reached the surface yet. Sans then made a pun about how we were like magma that made the group as a whole groan.)

"Who are those fellas?" I asked Sans, indicating two large figures in black armor ahead.

"Royal Guards 01 and 02. That's Alphys' lab that they're guarding. She's the royal scientist. A dinosaur of a woman."

Sans grinned expectedly, but I just stared. Was she old?

"Right, never mind."

Greater Dog stayed at the bottom when we arrived at an elevator because he was just too big. Undyne looked horrible by the time we entered the elevator, sweating and panting from the heat. Her skin looked like it was drying out terribly.

"Looking at you is starting to make me feel like I'm about to die," I quipped to the fish lady before throwing her my water canteen. "Take it," I cut her protests off before they could come out.

Undyne twisted the cap off of the canteen and gulped it down greedily. Her drinking was the only sound in the elevator.

I glanced over to Papyrus, who was shifting nervously. What was his deal?

* * *

We were standing on a ledge overlooking a large city.

"I was beginning to think the only place with actual buildings was Snowdin."

"This is the Capital," Undyne told me, looking better after her drink.

"What's it called?"

"The Capital."

I blinked.

"I have one more condition to handing over Ben's Soul. Someone else gets to name stuff from now on."

"Deal," Undyne agreed after an eye roll.

We walked along the edge and I saw the roaming crowds of Monsters down in the Capital. I was busy taking in the details of a church-like building when Sans directed me to the right. I entered a large hallway.

"THIS IS JUDGEMENT HALL," Papyrus spoke, finally. I spent a moment brushing against a gleaming speck before following Sans once more. Undyne glared at me for the seemingly unnecessary movement, but didn't comment.

"Who named this place?" I asked because I seriously doubted that their King had a hand in this place.

"Queen Dreemurr. She named this place long before she disappeared."

"Oh? Too bad. She should have been put in charge of naming stuff," I quirked, beginning to feel nervousness. I was on my way to meeting royalty.

"So what is this Asgore guy like?" I questioned Sans.

"HE'S A BIG OLE SWEETHEART," Papyrus answered, apparently overhearing me. "I'M SURE HE'LL BE DELIGHTED TO MEET YOU!"

I nodded to Papyrus and hoped that it wasn't his naivety talking. This was the same guy that was waiting for a seventh Human Soul. Human Souls came from, who would've guessed it, dead Humans. How those Humans came to the state of being dead, I could give a half decent guess.

"He's a pacifist at heart, kid," Sans added.

"Alright." Papyrus was naive, but Sans was down to earth. More so than I would ever understand. He, unless he was making a pun, would probably not screw around with me.

We continued through the castle and stopped outside of these tall doors adorned with the same symbols I first saw in the Ruins.

Wait...the Ruins...

"Did we ever tell Toriel that we were leaving?" I asked, hands inches from pushing open the door.

Undyne let out a screech of rage at my pause and Papyrus held he back when she began to leap forward.

We, Sans and myself, ignored them.

"I let her know earlier."

"When?"

"I took a shortcut to let her know. Also set your friend's stuff in her house."

I didn't bother asking when he had done it. I didn't understand those mysterious 'shortcuts.' I doubted I ever would.

"Keep your panties on," I drawled back to Undyne, who was practically frothing at the mouth by that point. "I'm going in."

With that, I pushed.

The doors swung open to reveal what could only have been the throne room.

The throne in the middle, as well as the sign outside, was a good indicator. The room let out the sweet scent that only flowers could give off and the extra scent of earth.

"Hmm?" My attention was drawn to the large Monster standing to the side. He was watering a small patch of the buttercups that dominated the middle of the room entirely. The floor was dedicated to the flowers and fluffy grass.

Ben would have hated the middle.

Undyne strode past me and addressed the King. I knew he was the King because he had a fine purple cape with yellow pauldrons adorning his broad shoulders and back as well as a golden crown sitting in between his two curving horns. His face was much like Toriel's and he had the fang-like things at the end of his snout, just like Toriel. The beard he sported reminded me of a Monster version of Santa Clause.

All in all, he was intimidating as hell.

"King Asgore, I have brought you the Human-"

"Who came willingly," I added, interrupting her.

"Who has brought a Soul he is going to give you-"

"There are-"

"I'm about to tell him that!" she barked over her shoulder at me, who merely let out a puff of breath.

She cleared her throat once again.

"He has a couple conditions before giving it over to you."

Asgore spoke in a deep tone and a small smile.

"Very well. Papyrus, would you please get our guest a chair?"

Papyrus saluted and exclaimed, "OF COURSE, KING ASGORE!" He immediately sprinted out of the room, searching for a chair.

There were a few chairs sitting in the corner along with another throne with a white sheet covering it.

A pause ensued before Undyne finally grabbed one and slammed it down in front of the throne.

I moved to the chair with a nod to Undyne and sat as Asgore sat. My chair was elegant, but the throne was leagues more so.

"Your conditions, ah?"

"David," I provided. "I have two. One: you are not allowed to name locations when you go up on the surface. Let someone else have that job."

The room paused, awaiting Asgore's reaction.

He began laughing. He laughed hard and pounded the armrest of his throne, where it shook with each impact. It was infectious and most of the room was grinning along with him.

"Very well, David," Asgore agreed around his chuckles. "What is the other condition?"

The grin I had from his infectious laughter left my face and I leaned closer to Asgore.

"My second condition is that you look me in the eyes and listen to what I have to say as I put this in your hand."

Asgore's chuckles petered off and his smile went away.

I held Ben's Soul up and opened my palm a little to show it. I then looked Asgore straight in his eyes and began talking.

"His name was Benny. He preferred being called Ben. He loved going outside. He wanted to go to college and become a robotics engineer. We were friends for most of our lives. He went to get help for me when I fell, but no one would dare come up the mountain because they were all too scared." Ben had shared that tidbit with me one of the times before we had died. I think we died when Flowey collapsed the tunnel on us in that run.

"He did not like buttercups because they made him sneeze. He died because a flower killed him. And the reason I am giving his Soul to you is because he was stupidly charitable when he was alive. Now hold out your hand."

Asgore reached forward and I placed Ben's Soul into his fluffy hands. The Soul stayed just a little ways away from ever touching his hands, so he covered it with both. He stood and began walking to the door behind the throne.

"Come on. Let's blow this hot dog stand," Sans said, following Asgore. Undyne also came close behind.

I waited a moment, taking my time standing up. I looked at my left hand, opening and closing it a few times. I had kept Ben's Soul in it for the last few hours and my hand missed the comforting pulsating warmth.

"That is what has been keeping us down here for all these centuries," Undyne muttered to me once I stopped next to her and Sans. I looked up and tried to study the Barrier.

It looked like a hallway that washed black and white alternatively and had energy pulses traveling from the middle to the outside simultaneously.

"That is the Barrier?"

"It's about to be the way out," Sans said nonchalantly. Actually, he seemed tense. He was looking around instead of at Asgore, who was approaching six other trapped Souls. I moved to the other side of him and spoke quietly.

"What's up?"

"The surface."

It was weak for Sans, and I knew it.

"Worried about the brat?"

Sans stiffened and made a 'so-so' gesture.

"Flowey?"

Another 'so-so' gesture.

"What could possibly go wrong aside from those two? Anyone else have those abilities?"

Sans gave a nod and, before I began gawking at him for leaving out this very important detail, he lifted his phalanges and pointed a single digit at myself.

"Me? You're worried about me?"

"Very."

"I get that I swing a good machete, but I don't think that's cause for much worry."

"The brat has a toy knife that she's sharpened and has managed to kill me thousands of times after she learned my patterns. But that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about you dying and ruining everything."

It took a moment, I'm sad to say, to get what he meant.

"Even if I did die and went back, chances are that I'll do exactly as I've done."

"For how long?"

"You've lost me."

Sans turned to me, his sockets an inky blackness.

"How long can you continue to do exactly as you're doing now? How many times can you come back and hand over your best friend's Soul to free all Monsters?"

I took a step back, his voice having taken on a malevolent rumbling tone after the first few words.

"What makes you think I'll come back after all of this? I only started Resetting after coming down here."

"The Save Points allowed you to continue coming back. If you hasn't touched one, then you wouldn't have to deal with all of this. You would have died once and that would have been that. That is, until you did touch a Save Point or never come down here."

"That's what those gleaming specks are? And you can see them?"

"Yeah, but no. I can't see them. The brat boasted about them, once."

I rubbed my face and said, "I'm not sure, alright? Let's just figure that out when it comes."

Sans grunted and we both turned to the flashing light show that had begun a few moments prior. All of the containers that held the Souls were open and in a circle around Asgore. As one, they floated out and flew towards Asgore. They stopped inches away from his body before slowly sinking into his flesh in the same rippling way that my Soul did when it returned to my body. It was discerning to see it happen all over someone.

Asgore pushed Ben's Soul into his chest last. Eyes closed, Asgore's held his arms to the side and faced the Barrier. His body shined brighter than anything I had seen underground before that point.

An arm extended.

The air thinned, then cracked. Wait, that was the Barrier. After the first crack formed on the surface of the suddenly black surface, the entire thing began being covered in cracks and soon fell to pieces and went out of existence.

It didn't take a full minute for the Barrier, the thing holding-that held-Monsterkind for centuries, to shatter into nothingness. Beyond the Barrier was an inky darkness. Made sense, considering it was actually about 2:00 in the morning outside.

There was silence for a moment after Asgore lowered his arms and stopped glowing so brightly. He had a little glow to him, but it was heavily diminished from before.

I began walking forward and went straight past Asgore.

"Where do you think you're going, Human?" Undyne barked behind me.

"Out," is all I said as I flipped on a flashlight and began walking.

I didn't need to turn around to hear the sound of slippers and combat boots to follow me. I did have to glance back to see if Asgore, who had no footwear, was following. It was a straight shot through the tunnel to the outside. Not even thirty yards long and I was outside.

I stood on a ledge that extended another fifteen yards out and wrapped around the summit of Mt. Ebott. The Monsters stood all around me, looking around in various levels of wonder. I clicked off my flashlight since the full moon lit the area well enough.

"THIS IS THE SURFACE? WOWIE!" The group as a whole turned to see Papyrus standing there, absurdly holding a chair.

"Yup. This is the surface, Paps," Sans said, grinning to his brother.

Papyrus copied Asgore in looking up and exclaimed, "SO MANY LIGHTS!"

"That there are," Undyne said, her face actually somewhat relaxed for once. It looked kind of weird.

"OH, HERE'S THE CHAIR YOU ASKED FOR, KING ASGORE."

Asgore smiled and I quickly said, "Thank you, Papyrus. I'll take that."

I nodded thankfully to the skeleton before sitting down and looking at Sans.

"I have a favor to ask."

"Whatchya got?"

"Could you grab my bag from Toriel's place? And bring Toriel if she wants to come?"

Sans didn't take too long before saying, "Sure, kid. I'll take a shortcut."

"BUT DON'T YOU WANT TO STARE AT THE STARS A LITTLE LONGER?"

"Don't worry, Paps. We'll have plenty of opportunities to see the stars now that the Barrier is gone."

Sans went back into the tunnel and was probably back at the Ruins before he arrived at the end of it.

"How do you know Tori?" Asgore inquired.

"Met her in the Ruins. Are you two married?"

"We were married, but not any more," Asgore said, his face showing some sadness.

"Sorry about that," I nodded to him. "Now please done wake me up until those two get back. I've been up for sixteen or so hours and I need to rest some."

I leaned forward and rested my head on top of my arms that were positioned on my legs. Closing my eyes and setting my machete across my lap, I rested.

* * *

What comes next will be as interesting as all those lovely reviews I'm sure y'all will leave me.


	4. Chapter 4

What's it Called? Chap 4

* * *

Chapter 4

Something shook my shoulder and I caught myself from falling out of the chair. My machete fell with a dull clang of the metal hitting the ground through the sheath.

"Wake up, child."

I blinked several times and rubbed the grit from my eyes. My back protested the position I had slept in and I arched my spine, eliciting a great many pops from it.

"Toriel?" I asked, opening one eye against the light that was peeking above the horizon.

"Yes, David. Sans got me and took me through one of his shortcuts. They said not to wake you up, but I thought you might want to see the sun rise.

" _Sunrise_!" I exclaimed and went for my seabag, which someone had set next to me.

"What's wrong, child?"

"I need my gear!"

I ripped open the bag and grabbed what I needed before running along the ledge and sitting down at the edge, in between several others that had leapt out of my way. I was an artist possessed.

I ignored their questions and comments, instead setting the drawing pad on my lap and staring intently out at the area lit by the rising star.

Then I began to draw. It wouldn't be the same as drawing a sunset, but it worked.

I drew the mountains in the back first, worried about capturing the outline effect of the rising sun as it rose over time.

Then the rolling landscape and the shadows the hills caused.

It snowballed from there.

* * *

"HUMAN?"

I held up a finger, carefully added one final detail, then let my pencil fall to the ground. My hands were numb and my lips were dry. I had to lick them and swallow to clear my throat before responding.

"Yes?"

"ARE YOU OKAY? YOU HAVEN'T MOVED FOR ABOUT THREE HOURS STRAIGHT. I'VE ONLY KNOWN SANS TO NOT MOVE FOR SO LONG AND BE OKAY."

"I'm fine, Papyrus. What time-ah, never mind." I waited for my phone to turn on and saw that it was only 9:49.

"IS THAT A PHONE?"

"It is. Where is everyone?"

"RIGHT OVER THERE," I looked up from my bag, where I was carefully storing my new drawing. I would give it a name and write my signature on it later.

A great many Monsters, somewhere around thirty or so, were milling around. I heard the rumbling sound of Asgore in the middle and pushed my way through with some apologies.

"-speaking with this town's leader so we can begin the process of re-introducing Monsters back into the world."

"Who are you planning on sending?" I heard a robot ask.

I was questioning why the rectangular robot was wearing an apron and held a spatula, but somehow kept from mentioning it.

"OH, I VOLUNTEER!" Papyrus said quickly.

I, just as quickly, said, "That would probably not be a good idea." The crowd's attention turned to me and most of them were Monsters that I had not met. I was suddenly aware that I didn't have my machete.

"Maybe someone a little less enthusiastic? Humans are already going to have a hard time getting used to Monsterkind. You don't want to set the wrong impression right off the bat."

"Who would you suggest, then, David?"

I ran through a quick list of all the Monsters I knew.

The list was painfully short.

Toriel wasn't an option simply because she was large and, frankly, a bit imposing to the average sized Human. Absolutely lovely once you take a moment to get to know her. But before then, not so much.

Papyrus...no...just _no_.

I'm pretty sure Undyne would try to make all the Humans in Ebott submit to her and cause all of Monsterkind to be declared dangerous.

Asgore wasn't an option because he had the size and appearance that would freak most out.

Grillby? Yes, of course a man made of fire would go over well.

Those dogs? No one would believe me that they were Monsters. Even if they wore giant armor.

Royal Guards 01 and 02? Yeah, that would go as well as sending a regular Human with someone's severed head on a platter, I bet.

My list, having been narrowed down to one, I decided.

"Sans is probably the best choice. He's relaxed and isn't physically imposing. He'll also not raise a fuss if he keeps his hood up and people don't realize he's a skeleton immediately."

There was an outburst from Undyne and Papyrus, as well as a few other Monsters that I did not recognize.

I just watched Asgore and waited for his verdict.

"Very well. Will you escort him to whoever is in charge?"

I shrugged and said, "Sure, why not."

I jumped when everyone around me cheered. They were weirdly excited, but I didn't begrudge them too much for it.

I say 'too much' because I knew, even if they didn't, that their freedom came at the cost of Ben's life. Hearing them so happy after the loss of my best friend was...

 _Painful_.

To get away, I pushed through and grabbed the machete I had dropped three hours prior.

"Ready to go, David?" Sans asked, appearing from nowhere.

"Yeah, sure." I steadied my seabag and we were off. The sound of the Monster's cheers and laughter had me grit my teeth a little.

"Thanks," Sans suddenly said, a few minutes into the climb back down.

"For what?"

"Specifically, for being so cool about everything. Most, well most probably wouldn't be so darn calm about all of this."

"I drank to calm down, remember. That wasn't exactly a sound decision."

"Trust me, pal, when I say that drinking to make a problem go away is one of the calmer things someone can do when they get in a crappy situation."

I glanced over to the skeleton and saw that his head was angled down and his sockets were empty.

"Right. Centuries...do you think we'll run into her at some point?"

"That, or she'll Reset."

"Isn't there some way we can stop her?" I said, frustrated.

"If you've got an idea, I'm all ears."

I shook my head after a minute and we walked in silence for a bit.

"Have you ever been up here in a different timeline?"

"A few times. Before she turned insane and started calling herself something else."

"What did she call herself?"

"Doesn't matter," Sans said dismissively. "She calls herself Chara now. The old, nice, one doesn't exist any more."

I noted the name for later.

"Well if you've been here before, why don't you just take us through a shortcut so we don't have to walk all the way? That'll save us a few hours."

"Because I saw that you were not all there and I thought a walk might make you feel better."

"Well now all I feel is hot, so shortcut central sounds great, if you please?"

Sans chuckled before grabbing my arm and the world returned from black.

"Where are we?"

"Behind town hall. It should be opening up soon or is already open."

I gestured for him to wait.

"What's the plan? Do we just stroll in there, tell him that Monsters are back, then shortcut our way out of there? Maybe light a few firecrackers right before we go?"

"Nah. Just be polite and tell him that Monsters are back. This guy is pretty laid back."

"It's weird to remember that you've already met these people." A thought then occurred to me.

"Have you ever met me before?"

"Nope. This is the first timeline I remember meeting you. You're an anomaly."

I wasn't sure whether to be complimented or insulted. I didn't think on it for too long.

"Let's head in." I said before leading the way. Sans put up his hood and I put my machete in my seabag.

The building was respectable for a town hall. Large columns stood proudly at the front and ornate doors waited for us to open them. I didn't take too long in walking through and asking a secretary directions to the mayor's office.

"Do you have an appointment set up?"

"No ma'am, but it won't take too long," I said, probably lying. This was going to take the rest of the day, most likely.

The secretary, Diana was her name, thought for a moment before nodding.

"Three doors down that hallway on the right. Don't tell him I sent you."

"Got it," I gave her a small salute as I went past her towards the hallway she pointed towards.

Sans, with his hood still up, followed behind me quietly. I knocked on the door labeled Mayor's room (how handy) and walked in when I heard, "Come in."

Inside was an older man with brown skin that looked almost bronze in the sunlight that streamed in behind him. His chair looked comfortable. It was brown leather and was on wheels behind his desk. He wore reading glasses that he set on his desk, along with the paper he had been reading, when we walked in. He wore a basic suit and had plenty of other paperwork adorning his desk.

Poor bastard. We were about to put plenty more on there.

"Good morning, sir."

"Good morning. I can't say we have met, Mister?"

"David is fine. This is Sans."

"Like the font?"

I grinned and nodded.

"Yes. May we sit?" I gestured at the two seats pulled in front of his desk and he gave his consent, his face showing some interest.

"Now what have you come to see me about? I hope it's something for Halloween because that mask is pretty well done." He studied Sans' face and I snorted.

"Forgot it was September. Heh. But that's not what we're here for. Maybe another time. You know the legends surrounding Mt Ebott?"

Mr. Daniel, the mayor, turned back to me.

"Of course. I've lived here my entire life. What about them?"

"What if I told you that the Monsters held under the mountain had been released and Sans here wasn't wearing a mask? How, precisely, would you react?"

He blinked, then began chuckling.

"I would more than likely react accordingly."

"And what would that entail?"

"If they were attacking or threatening, I would call the National Guard or Homeland Security or someone to fight off the threat. If they were friendly, then I would certainly enjoy the tourism they would bring to Ebott."

"Good enough," I judged and motioned for Sans to pull off his hood.

The mayor stared in silence. His face did not change. That was one hell of a poker face and I couldn't tell anything he was feeling.

I couldn't have that.

I motioned for Sans to pull up his sleeve and he waved his arm around. The mayor looked through the space in between the bones.

After a minute, he laid back and gave a deep sigh.

"Are you a Monster too?"

"Nope. Plain Human. I live in Florida. I was just passing through when, well, that's a long story. The point is that there is an entire race living underground that is more than delighted to rejoin the surface."

"Are they all, ah..."

"Handsome? Charismatic? Funny?" Sans suggested, obviously teasing the man.

"Skeletons. Are they all skeletons?"

"No. The only skeletons I've met are Sans and his brother. The rest are, well, I can't say normal, can I? There are all sorts of different kinds of Monsters and most are peaceful."

"Most?"

"I do admit that a few are violent. But they're alright once you've set a few ground rules down. Their leader, King Asgore, is a pretty nice guy. Pacifist at heart."

"A king?" the mayor groaned. I didn't blame him. The United States would not enjoy someone calling themself a king in their borders. I would have to speak to him about that.

"Monsters are willing to make concessions in exchange for living peacefully on the surface," Sans said. I felt a sudden shift in who was in control of the conversation at that point.

I gave it away eagerly.

In that office, I saw my very first instance of hard-core politics.

"We can construct our own buildings in very little time. Any supplies we need we can afford to purchase. Our currency is based on gold. We have crystals with different abilities. Flowers that have never been touched by Human hands." Sans spoke with authority and didn't waste time.

I found it funny that he kept his lazy drawl all throughout it.

"Yes, yes. You have made your point," the mayor finally said. "Just let me contact certain parties. The world needs to know. But first, I'm going to send up a deputy to see if this is all real."

I sat up in my chair, feeling some indignation. Mr. Daniel spoke before I could.

"I believe you, I really do. I just want someone to go and confirm with their own eyes before I put my career and reputation on the line. Is this understood?"

I relaxed once again as Sans gave an okay.

Mr. Daniel picked up a phone and called down to the police station.

We waited as Deputy Baxter drove to the town hall. It wasn't a long drive and the uniformed man was walking into the office in no time. The man was about five and a half feet tall, but had broad enough shoulders to not be mistaken as 'small.' If I was to guess his age, I would guess more along the forties. He wore an officer's suit with the usual decorations on the blue and grey material.

"You called?" His voice was deep and he looked at us after speaking. Sans had his hood back up for the upcoming conversation.

* * *

"Damn," Deputy Baxter muttered while rubbing his face. The man looked tired after he received the same explanation that the mayor had gotten.

"You should have seen my reaction after falling down there," I said, giving him a grim smile.

"How long should this take? How far up the mountain are they located?"

"About at the top. But it should only take an hour, at most," Sans answered.

"An hour? It usually takes five or so hours for an experienced hiker to get to the top. I may be fit for my age, but I'm no hiker."

"I know a shortcut."

"He means he's got some magic that is just plain too complicated to try and explain," I added before standing. "Now we might want to go ahead and get this over with. I want to get this done and eat me some breakfast."

The other two Humans in the room wondered if I was serious while Sans rolled his eyes and stood.

Sans grabbed my shoulder and held out a hand for Deputy Baxter to take. I felt my respect for the man rise a bit when he took only a moment to grab on. Hardly any hesitation.

The world went black and I blinked furiously when a hard wind blew straight in my eyes.

"They're right ahead," Sans said, dropping his grips on us and walking forward. His hands relocated themselves in their usual spots in his jacket pockets and his habitual slouch was once more obvious.

I turned to Deputy Baxter and found him looking around and down at the town below.

"Right this way, sir," I prompted him.

"I'm not even sure I have to see the others after that display," the deputy declared, beginning to walk despite this.

I snorted and he followed behind me as we made our way up the path. I heard noise up ahead and we went around a boulder to see a bunch of tents of various sizes set up on the ledge I had drawn from before.

Here and there stood Monsters doing various activities. Most were obviously excited and laughter was heard often.

"Asgore'll be in that tent," Sans nodded at a larger tent with the Dreemurr crest adorning the sides.

Deputy Baxter followed us as we made our way through the camp. Sans waved and generally set Monsters at ease when they saw us.

"Is that man on fire?" Baxter whispered to me and I looked to where he indicated.

"That's Grillby. He's got a restaurant down below. Makes some great burgers."

Deputy Baxter didn't respond to that and we arrived at the royal tent moments after. Royal Guards 01 and 02 stood in front.

It was weird to see them see me and step aside with a nod. I guess that's what it felt like to have some serious respect from someone.

It was weird.

We walked in, Sans leading the way, and found something I hadn't expected.

"Dinosaur?" I muttered to myself upon noticing the hunched over figure tinkering with some machine. The Monster wore a lab coat and glasses and flinched at every loud sound.

"Ah, you're back," Toriel, who was one of the other occupants of the tent, said with a smile.

Asgore, the final member of the tent, turned to us and looked straight at the other Human in the room.

I felt Deputy Baxter stiffen when the two large Monsters in the room looked at him and patted him on the arm while saying, "This is Deputy Baxter. He's an important member of the town below. Any idea where I can grab some breakfast?"

Once again, the room (or tent in that case) stared at me in confusion or exasperation.

* * *

"Mmm," I hummed in appreciation of the burger that Grillby had hooked me up with. He had set up a little area where he was selling food and I had found a nice flat rock to sit and eat.

What? You think I care that I was having a burger for breakfast? I was hungry.

And I needed something to do while the people in charge did their thing.

"E-excuse me," a timid voice had me turn to the right. It was the hunched over dinosaur Monster in the lab coat.

"Yes?" I answered after swallowing the last bite of that delicious burger.

I understood why Sans loved going to Grillby's.

"They a-asked me t-to come a-and get you."

"Oh, alright." I was surprised by how short of a time it had been. Ten, fifteen minutes, tops.

The dinosaur Monster fiddled with her hands and nodded her head a few times before turning and quickly walking the way to the royal tent.

I met up with Deputy Baxter and Sans outside of it.

"Time to head back down?"

Deputy Baxter is the one who piped up and said, "Yes, I've gotten more than enough proof. We can return now."

Sans brought us back to Ebott. Right in front of the mayor's desk.

Poor guy was drinking some coffee at the time and did one hell of a spit-take. I narrowly avoided getting hit and I saw the mist glow a faint blue before hitting Sans. The blue slowed the liquid and let it fall to the ground.

Huh. His eye turned blue when he did that. Cool.

"Either they are telling the truth, or they have made the most elaborate prank ever conceived," Deputy Baxter said, wiping a little of the coffee off of his face. He had gotten the worst of us three.

"Eh, sorry about that," the mayor apologized before getting back down to business. "If this isn't fake, then let's get started."

I blinked and had to ask, "Started with what, exactly?"

Mister Daniel looked at me and smiled.

"Well the reintegration of Monsterkind on the surface, of course."

* * *

Wheels are in motion and stuff it happening! Don't hesitate to talk about it in the reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

What's it Called? Chap 5

* * *

Chapter 5

Two months passed. In those months, the world had been informed of Monsterkind.

Reactions to the news was, to put it kindly, mixed.

I had been condemned by so many for bringing "hellspawn" back that I stopped checking my mail. Most of it was junk mail anyways. And the occasional death threat. I had to change phones after my number had somehow gotten leaked to the public.

I really enjoyed the ones that called me the antichrist. I could read the red, pissed off tones that they wanted to convey through their words. I had a sick sense of humor.

A small majority of society hating me aside, Monsterkind was doing quite well on the surface.

It had started with a town that wasn't too far from Ebott. Only a couple miles around the base of Mt. Ebott. The Monsters built it in a time that was probably record breaking using a combination of insane strength and impressive magic. I never knew that Toriel could use fire magic in such an impressive fashion.

I knew that I didn't want to get on her bad side.

Sans was a lazy sucker and only got off of the couch for if we needed to get to places quickly or ketchup.

He drank ketchup like it was cheap booze and he was an alcoholic. I once tasted a bit of it to make sure he wasn't secretly drinking. Nope. Straight ketchup. Good with fries. Good with everything according to Sans.

Needless to say, we didn't let Sans cook. Papyrus, on the other hand, took cooking to a whole nother level. He, after getting some lessons from Toriel, turned out to be a competent cook.

Undyne...don't get me started on Undyne's cooking. I'm pretty sure the neighbors called the cops because they thought a violent murder was going down at Undyne's place.

They were making a new type of pasta. I tried it out after the police were sent away. It wasn't half bad.

Asgore readily stepped down as king when I told him that the government wouldn't like the idea of a king in their territory. Asgore was really relaxed about the whole thing. Something told me that he was tired of leading a species singlehandedly. The town was given the name New Home. I glared at Asgore until he told me he hadn't come up with it. Apparently the name just came as a suggestion from some random Monster and had caught on.

New Home, West Virginia, soon became the most interesting location in the world in no time for curious people.

The town wouldn't look like someplace special. The dimensions were a little bigger to account for how some Monsters were larger than the average Human. The streets were also a plethora of colors as they were adorned in plant-life of all different shapes and sizes. At night, street lamps were topped with the same crystals that emulated stars underground. Up close, they gave off a pleasant glow that lit up the streets comfortably.

Toriel told me, when I asked, that they fed off of the magic that made up a Monster's being to power. But it was such a slow and gradual draw that someone would have to be totally surrounded by them for weeks for anything to begin to affect them.

I noticed that they got just so slightly brighter when Humans got close and had some slight worry that they might overload if too many came too close.

Toriel worked with Asgore and the small council of Monsters that made up the leading body of New Home. They voted between themselves on laws and various decisions that would affect New Home.

And where was I during this, you might ask? Well it's very simple.

I was the part-time ambassador for the Monsters. I went along with any diplomatic groups that went out of New Home and assisted the Monsters in preparing food for any diplomatic groups that came to New Home. I quickly became well known around New Home as The Human. I was the one to go to if you had a question regarding Humans.

Why? Well Humans began moving in New Home. It was gradual and filled with tension at first, but things worked out well enough. Even after this time, there's the occasional incident. But that's about normal in a town the size of New Home. The royal guard, now called the town guard, took care of things well enough.

Monsters, having their currency made purely of gold, turned out to be extremely wealthy. The government actually had to pay New Home to avoid flooding the market with so much new gold. Needless to say, the Monsters did not want for money.

The only major issue that Monsters had with New Home is the fact that New Home was all there was. The government gave away plenty of farmland and land to build, but minimal land for expansion. If Monsters constructed things at the same speed as Humans, then there would probably have been at least a year of time before space became an issue.

Then there was the problem of Monsters that wanted to explore. A great many wanted to go around the world. Mainly that one robot, named Mettaton.

I had hung out with Mettaton for a few events and he was very over-the-top all the time. Gave me a headache after a bit. Didn't much care for his show. Nice person, though.

But back to the main topic.

It was two months after the Monsters left the underground. I was walking down the street when a voice caught my attention.

"Excuse me!"

I turned and had to look a little down at the kid that ran up to me. The kid looked about eight and had a mop of light brown hair topping her head. (I deemed her a female due to the red circles on her cheeks and the very slight feminine touch to her voice. If she didn't have those, she would have been androgynous and I would have had trouble figuring out which gender she was.)

"You're the Human that led the Monsters out of the underground, right?" the kid asked excitedly.

I gave a small smile and nodded when she pulled out a phone, familiar with the routine. The kid was probably a tourist that was passing through.

"Mind if I get a selfie with you?"

I shook my head and she gestured towards an alleyway we were next to.

"It can't take very good pictures in the sun. Mind if we get in a kind of darker area?"

The walls of the building set the area in some nice shadow. I didn't mind and we moved over there. I had gotten requests like that before. I wasn't too busy and this wouldn't take too long.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed while holding the phone in her left hand and wrapping her right around my back as I bent down to her level. Probably giving me bunny ears or something childish. I had gotten used to contact from strangers after awhile.

There was just enough light coming into the alleyway to see the glint of the metal in the camera's screen right before her right hand forced a thin six-inch piece of steel into the back of my neck.

I had just enough time to let out a throaty wheeze-as the blade had gotten into my windpipe on its way in-and glimpse the freakiest grin on that child's face before I blacked out.

"-HALL," Papyrus finished saying, the words File Loaded appearing in front of me as I stumbled. I noticed that Sans grunted and rubbed his head a moment later.

"Uh, cool name," I responded, furiously trying to remember the conversation and what context I had to work with. I nearly dropped Ben's Soul before remembering it.

"You drank a lot back at Grillby's," Sans suddenly said. "You need to pee or anything before we meet the King?"

I really didn't, but nodded and Sans led me to a restroom while Undyne waited outside, visually steaming in impatience.

We sat down at the other end of the restroom. The floor was tiled and it seemed pretty modern.

"What happened?"

Sans' tone didn't hold any blame. No condemnation or annoyance or anything I expected from the guy.

"A kid killed me when we were taking a selfie," I said, speaking quietly enough so that my voice wouldn't carry through the door.

"What did the kid look like?"

"I think she's exactly like what we're thinking about. About yay tall," I held my hand up to the general height of the girl. "Brown hair. Red spots on her cheeks. Creepiest fucking smile I have ever seen."

"That's Chara. She must have gotten bored."

"Bored!" I whisper shouted, one push away from actually shouting. "She shoved a knife in my neck!"

Sans met my gaze with a bored one of his own.

"Right," I calmed down a little. The guy would know what it was like to die. Chances are that I had a lamer death than what he usually had.

I rubbed my face and gave a loud sigh. All that work. All those damn meetings, the fake smiles, the acting. All of it, gone with the flash of metal.

"I'll do everything basically the same," I said to Sans. "But you're bringing me back down here and I'll save every week or so-"

"Day," Sans insisted forcefully.

"Every day," I agreed. "So ' _this_ ,'" I gestured all around us, "doesn't happen again."

Sans nodded and pushed up and off the wall. He pulled me up with some surprising strength and we left the restroom to see Undyne grinning a painful looking grin at Papyrus. Something told me that she was humoring the skeleton.

After she gave me a customary glare, we were off again.

* * *

It was one week after Monsters returned to the surface. The second time, for myself.

I was sleeping in a bed at a newly constructed building that resembled an apartment building. It had been finished only three days prior and already had all the utilities one would expect.

I heard knocking from the door to the suite I was in and I cursed when I saw the time. 5:45 AM.

"This better be an emergency," I muttered, putting on some shorts and a shirt before opening the door.

I found a blade at my throat as the door opened and I had no time to react.

"Hello again, David," Chara grinned at me. "Mind if I come in?"

"Not at all, Chara," I put emphasis on her name and her grin grew wider.

I back up carefully and she kicked the door closed with her foot when she was inside enough. Her arm was extended the whole way to keep the edge of the blade against the left part of my throat.

"How'd you enjoy the underground and all those pathetic Monsters?"

"They make some very tasty food," I replied, matching the brat's stare with my own.

"How much LOVE have you got so far?"

"What?" I was thrown for a loop with that question. Love?

"Uh, I'm friends with m-"

"Not that!" Chara barked. "LOVE! Level Of Violence. LV. That stuff!"

"Um, how does one get LOVE?"

"Killing Monsters!" Chara said, her joy abundantly evident in those two words.

"Then _none_. I have no LOVE. And I really wish it was called something-ouch!" Her blade pushed deeper into me and caused a furious burning to appear. I heard a faint drip on the floor next to my foot.

"How many times have you Reset?" Chara's voice was a little more human, meaning: less overall insanity.

"I've been killed plenty of times by Flowey and once by you."

"But how many times have you Reset?"

"What does that even mean?" I barked. I hated the fact that this kid knew more about this situation than me. Was in more control of this situation than me. That she had a knife held to my throat.

"You know," she said, her voice showing some confusion. "The choices when you die? Continue and Reset? I've seen it a million times. Anything ringing a bell?"

I shook my head.

"I just die and go back to when I last touched a Save Point. You set me back by an entire two months the last time you killed me."

She shrugged, obviously not caring one whit.

I grit my teeth and slammed my arm into the one holding the knife in place. She grimaced at the move, but the knife stayed right in her hand and was soon headed back towards me in a sweeping swing.

I grabbed the arm that held the knife and then grabbed her other one before pinning both arms to the wall. Who knew how useful being physically larger and stronger would help so much? She growled and spat under my grip, kicking at my legs and such.

"Why do you even bother doing this?" I asked, once she stopped making so much of a fuss. I was curious, but mainly I was waiting for Sans.

He was supposed to arrive at 6:00, on the dot. This was one thing that he never missed and once abducted me from my bed when I didn't move fast enough and dropped me into a patch of snow to wake me up.

I glared at him for the rest of that day.

But I only had to hold the demon brat for five or so more minutes before he would teleport right in like he always did.

"Because I'm so bored!"

"Bored?"

"I've been doing this for so long that I've learned how to manipulate everyone in the underground in about every way. I've befriended all of them, dated all of them, and killed all of them in every way conceivable. I'm bored!"

My eye twitched.

"So you've gotten bored after centuries of doing whatever you want. Why do you keep going down there if it's so boring?"

"Because Monsters are so much more interesting than Humans. It's so much more interesting to fight against Monsters and so much easier to clean up after than with Humans. With Monsters, I just need a little broom if I even bother to clean up. Wish I had one a little earlier."

It took a moment for me to connect the dots and notice the pale dust that coated her knife and hands.

My throat clenched at the sight and I squeezed her knife-holding hand until she grit her teeth from the pain. Bitch still didn't drop that knife.

"Who-you know what, I don't care. How long ago did you start killing?"

"This time? Uh, when I got in town."

"When, exactly?" I hissed in her face and she grinned.

"Oh? Are you thinking of Resetting? Wasting two months just to prevent a few deaths?"

The sound of slippers against the floor of my bedroom stopped what I was about to say.

"Sans!"

"Oh? Sansie boy is here?"

"Da-" Sans stopped talking the moment he saw me holding a grinning demon against the wall.

"She's killed some people. We need to go back to the last time we Saved."

We had talked about it before, but hasn't had to use the option. Not until then, anyways.

"Got it. Sorry, David."

Sans' eyes were replaced with a single glowing blue eye and he raised his hand towards me.

"Gaster Blaster time!" Chara shrieked-happily?

"I'll be seeing you soon," I growled at her right before the blast from the draconian skull reduced my lifespan to zilch.

Then I was back.

"Let's go!" Sans gripped my arm and we were in front of Alphys' house and he was knocking while I was still stumbling from the unexpected scenery change.

We waited a minute and I stopped Sans from knocking again.

"It's not even six in the morning. Give her a minute to come to the door."

Sans look at me with his blue eye activated and I took a step back.

"That brat is here and could be killing someone right now. She could Reset at any moment. We need Alphys now."

The door opened and Sans turned to the dinosaur Monster, turning the blue eye off when he looked away from me.

"W-w-" a yawn cut off her stutter and Sans spoke quickly.

"We need you to run a scan for a certain individual, and we need that _now_."

Alphys blinked rapidly at the news, nodded, then shuffled inside. She was probably surprised by the lack of lazy drawl coming from him. And my lack of proper clothing. I didn't exactly have time to get dressed the day before to go Save. I closed the door behind us and followed her through the house to her lab area.

"R-r-right over here!" Alphys led us to a wall that was covered in computers and as well as other electronic devices. She quickly typed at the keyboard that sat in front of all of them and the screen saver, an anime girl with cat ears, went away to show camera feeds all around New Home.

"Human. Child sized. Eight year old. Striped shirt. Brown hair," Sans began listing criteria about Chara and Alphys entered it in as it came.

One Enter button press later and a grinning demon was shown on her monitors. It only showed a bit of the sidewalk that she was on, so we weren't sure where she was.

"Where is she?" Sans' voice was barely controlled.

"Uh, just a m-moment." She typed at the keyboard and we got a different vantage point.

Sans tensed at the view of his house and he asked, "How long ago was this?"

"T-this is a l-l-live feed-"

I didn't hear her say any more because Sans, who had already put his hand on me, brought us to his living room.

A burning pain originated in my chest and I looked down to see a bone sticking through my chest and into my Soul, which had just appeared in front of my chest.

"HUMAN? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Papyrus had apparently sent several bones flying towards Chara, said demon grinning right in front of me, and we had appeared right in the wrong place. Chara didn't even get a chance to swing her raised blade. My Soul shattered and we were back where we started.

I slapped away Sans' hand and shouted, "Give me a moment!"

I stumbled away from Sans and sat down against a pillar. My breathing was rough, though I didn't feel any sort of tiredness. That's something that Loading always took care of. Any injuries, anything, was healed when I Loaded.

"She knows that we know that she's in that area," I said after a moment.

"And she'll take it as a challenge to get there even faster. Let's go."

"You can just kill me in a minute," I growled at him.

Why was I so angry? I expected Chara to come around eventually and screw things up. I just hadn't expected her to straight up kill me and waste months of work. Not only would I have to act like everything was normal for that time, but now I had to deal with a demonic time-altering child with little to no regard to people's lives. Not only that, but also the fact that the only way we could prevent any deaths she caused was by killing me.

Dying hurt! Whether via the Soul getting too injured or by my physical body getting screwed up.

When had my life become so fucked up?

* * *

"Uh, earth to David?"

I stiffened and turned to my left.

"Ben?"

"Are you okay? You just turned really pale."

I had fallen asleep after helping Sans stop Chara for the fifth time or so. We had finally tranquilized her and had her stored in a cage in Alphys' lab.

She must have woke up and Reset. But when-never mind. I saw Mt. Ebott from where I sat in Ben's truck.

Ben was _alive_. He was _alive_ and everything was back to _normal_.

"You're beginning to worry me," Ben's voice did take on some worry and I quickly smiled.

"It's alright. I just zoned out there for a minute."

One so very long minute.

My smile nearly faltered when I saw an image of Ben, _soveryverydead **I'msosorryBen**_ -

I rubbed my head and turned away with a frown.

It would take awhile for me to get that out of my head.

"The mountain looks pretty cool," Ben said, and my heart clenched.

"I think that there's a concert happening in the next town. You want to check it out?"

"Definitely!"

And so we went through Ebott without stopping for more than some chips. I drew a quick picture of it as we went away.

"What's it called?" Ben asked me as we were about to go to bed and he saw the almost finished product.

"I'm Sorry."

"Huh? For what?"

For abandoning all the Monsters for my selfish reasons. For leaving Sans to figure out things on his own. For letting you die all those times. For these things and more.

"That's what it's called," I said in a small voice before jumping into bed and pulling the covers over me, effectively cutting the conversation off.

* * *

"David?"

It had lasted for two weeks before I found Ben looking at me oddly and Mt. Ebott looming in the distance.

So it's going to be like that. **Fine**.

"I think it would be great to draw a picture from the top of that sucker!"

And so we went the next day.

"Huh, looks like it's going to rain," I commented at the clouds above us and gestured towards the cave, the very same one from before, right as the first drops began to fall. I had wasted a little time and caused us to begin climbing later than the time before, just so we would be closer.

I hated getting rained on.

We took shelter in there and I immediately went to the hole with him in tow.

"Wanna explore?"

Ben looked at me like I was insane and I didn't blame him. I was not one to explore or do anything adventurous like that. Fun stuff, sure. I would give that stuff a try if it seemed interesting enough. But exploring? I left that to Ben.

So we found ourselves in front of Toriel's place and I had a doozy in making sure that he didn't get killed by those white projectiles. And from keeping him from committing first degree frogicide. Flowey wasn't there as far as I could tell. If he was, he didn't appear.

"Can you see this?" I touched the Save Point, bringing up the File Saved screen.

"Uh, yeah? It-File Saved? Wha-hey!" I pulled him over to it and shoved his hand at it.

The File Saved screen appeared and I sighed in relief, even as he jerked his arm out of my grip and took a few steps back.

"Begin explaining, now," Ben demanded, rubbing the area I had grabbed him. I had gripped him rather hard.

"You know how videogames work? Well we are now in one. Welcome to our own personal Hell."

"David," Ben said carefully, "You've been acting very weird lately. Then there's this underground place with those mutant frogs and those traps that you solved in no time. What's going on?"

I sighed and waved for him to follow me as I moved away from Toriel's house. We could knock later.

I sat under the dead tree and Ben joined me a moment later.

I explained some of what had happened. The Save Points. Sans. Toriel. Monsters. Chara, especially Chara. I didn't go into too much detail. I didn't really need to.

"Alright, I get it," Ben interrupted me.

"Let me guess: you think I'm nuts?"

He hummed a bit before saying, "Not really. You've never come up with some stupidly complicated story like this before. You don't play pranks of this caliber. And I'm pretty sure those who draw are already a little nutso from putting the pictures in their heads out into the world already, so you're not insane. So let's go. We'll figure things out later. Right now I want some of that snail sponge cake!"

I looked at his hand, the one extended to help me up, and thanked every deity out there that Ben was so reliable. That he knew me so well. And that it was a hobby of his to try new foods.

He pulled me up and I knocked on Toriel's door.

I was glad that she was too surprised by two Humans on her doorstep to notice my bad acting at being surprised. I had been with the goat woman long enough that I knew her very well.

But it was a one-way street. The lady that I had stayed up with for late nights assisting with negotiations no longer existed. Maybe she never would.

"Hi, my name is David. This is Ben."

Toriel nodded a greeting to the two of us and invited us inside. We sat and talked for a little while. It was mostly Ben and Toriel talking with me enjoying the various types of food, most of snail origin.

I had acquired a taste of snails, being around Toriel for so long.

"-David's an amazing artist!"

I had zoned out and only heard that last part.

"Ah, I'm just an amateur-"

"No way! You've had a few shown in art galleries. I think I still have a-yup, right here." Ben had pulled out his phone and was showing Toriel pictures he had taken of some things I had drawn. I hardly ever bothered to take pictures of what I drew. I didn't need to. They were already up in my head and unlikely to come back out.

"Oh? You drew that?" She turned the camera towards me and I saw that it was not something I had drawn.

"No. That's a picture of a sunset in Tennessee, I think. I'm pretty sure those are the Smokey Mountains."

I couldn't tell without getting closer, but I was pretty sure.

"Even so, these others are very nice."

I smiled and thanked her for her compliment, despite it being the fifth or so time of her doing it throughout the various timelines.

We talked about various topics for awhile before I asked what else there was in the underground.

Toriel went quiet.

"There is much to the rest of the underground. It is vast and beautiful. But you will be in danger if you go there."

Yeah. I knew that firsthand.

"What's the issue? Aside from slightly murderous frogs."

Toriel's mouth quirked a little at my description of the Froggits.

"Asgore will be waiting for you and will collect your Soul so he can break the Barrier."

We had already covered the Barrier topic. Already knew that one needed an exceptionally powerful Soul, blah blah blah.

"Why doesn't he just go ahead and use one of the Souls he has collected to go get some more from the surface and free the Monsters that way?"

Toriel's face tightened at my words and I knew why. We had had that discussion before.

"Because he is a foolish and weak leader."

"Then why don't we go and persuade him. Worst comes to worse, you can all just wait until we die of old age and collect our Souls then."

I was a little confused at their horrified looks.

"What? Monsters live super long, right? We could chill down here for the rest of our lives and our deaths could help you escape. But let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, we can just go and keep Asgore from killing us outright."

I stood and put on my seabag while Ben, thankfully, mimicked me. As one, we looked at Toriel with an expecting gaze and she froze like a goat in headlights.

(If you didn't laugh at that, _you have no Soul_.)

Toriel sighed at our determined looks.

"I will go with the two of you. But in the morning. It's late now. We can leave after some breakfast."

We agreed and Toriel went to bed a little while later. We set our sleeping bags out and stayed in the living room. Since it had only been about five or so hours since we had got up, we relaxed on our sleeping bags and talked.

I told him some stuff I did in the timelines before the one we were in. Described Chara in detail. Told him what it felt like to die.

Best slumber party, ever. I assure you.

We napped some a few hours after laying down, just to get some sleep.

* * *

We were before the door that led into the rest of the underground.

"Are the both of you truly sure-"

"Yes, Toriel. We are very sure," I said, tone serious. She had tried to dissuade us plenty of times and questioned our ability to protect ourselves.

After I sent a Froggit packing without getting a scratch, she didn't question that any more.

Toriel pushed open the door and we heard a surprised sound from the other side just as Sans came into view, hand raised to knock.

Toriel immediately got in front of us.

"These two are under my protection. We need to pass by."

Balls of flame appeared in Toriel's hands and Sans held up both hands lazily.

"No worries. I really don't want to capture anybody. Too much work."

The flames in Toriel's hands flickered a little in surprise.

"That voice. You're the one who tells me the jokes!"

"Huh. I thought your voice sounded familiar. Don't worry. Anyone with an amazing sense of humor like yours must have a good reason for protecting these Humans. Want a hand?"

The flames died and Toriel's stance relaxed somewhat.

"That would be appreciated. Perhaps you can talk down your brother?"

"I'm sure I can make him relax," Sans said, turning and beginning to move down the path at a lazy pace.

We introduced ourselves, though my introduction was completely faked by both sides. We recognized each other. I was just doing it for Toriel's sake.

Toriel and Sans exchanged jokes and Sans asked a few questions about the surface, most of which he already probably knew the answers to.

Sans persuaded, with my assistance, us to stop at Grillby's. Inside, Ben and Toriel began talking about various recipes while Sans and myself waited at the bar to pick up our ordered food and bring it to the booth we had selected.

"She came down here and started killing everyone in Snowdin, waiting on you."

I closed my eyes, feeling an ache when I thought about the various Monsters I had seen being killed. Most were peaceful. They didn't deserve it.

"I thought I could break the cycle. I thought I had my friend back and I didn't want to lose him again."

"I get it," Sans pulled out a ketchup bottle he had and squirted some in his mouth. "If I was in your position, I would've done the same."

I was happy that he didn't condemn me for my actions. I had been worried about it the whole way there.

"When did she appear?"

"Two days from now."

"Let's set up a trap. Stop her in the Ruins."

"Done that before. Doesn't work."

"Then let's enlist Alphys' help. You said she did experiments on-what was it you called it?"

"Determination. It's something that only Humans have."

"And you think that this has something to do with her ability to Reset and Save?"

"I'm pretty certain."

Sans had told me about the mysterious, and dangerous, stuff in a past timeline.

I blinked at a sudden idea.

"What if I'm injected with Determination? You said it's some sort of liquid. We've established that Chara has a better grasp of Saving, Loading, and Resetting than I do. Especially since I do not have the ability to Reset. Maybe she naturally has more Determination than me?"

Sans considered this, then shrugged.

"I'm willing to try it. When did you Save last?"

"Back in front of Toriel's house. I haven't been able to get to another one without making it obvious."

Sans grunted and accepted the food that Grillby passed to us. We brought it to our table and discussed random topics with Toriel until she excused herself to the restroom.

The moment she walked away, I leaned closer to Sans and said, "Ben has also Saved. I've already filled him in on about everything."

Sans accepted this with a nod and munched on a fry, thoughtfully.

"How are we going to get away from Toriel so we can do all of this?"

Sans tapped the side of his skull for a full minute, thinking silently.

"I've got an idea."

* * *

God help us all, Sans has an idea. He's working. The world must be ending! Discuss it in a review. I want to see what y'all think his idea is.


	6. Chapter 6

What's it Called? Chap 6

* * *

Chapter 6

"Ready to go, Tori?" Sans asked the goat woman once she returned to our table.

"Yes. Let us be off."

"I actually know a shortcut to Asgore's castle, if you want to speak to him quickly?" Sans offered and Toriel accepted gratefully.

I bet she didn't expect the world to turn black and for us to appear right behind Asgore, who was watering flowers.

I glanced at Ben and saw the moment when the smell of flowers hit his nose.

A loud sneeze broke the silence and Asgore jumped and dropped the watering can before turning around.

"Aa, Aa, _Achoo_!" Ben sneezed again.

"Maybe we can have this heartfelt reunion in another room? Those make him sneeze," I pointed down at the buttercups underfoot and Asgore agreed with a slight stutter.

The poor fellow just had his ex wife and two humans drop in on him out of nowhere. I could understand a slight stutter.

Toriel, on the other hand, didn't care. The moment we got into another room, she began tearing Asgore a new one.

"Do you mind if I bring these two to Alphys and get their Souls checked out?" Sans suddenly asked when Toriel was taking a breath.

Sans made up some sort of excuse about how it would probably help Alphys create an artificial Soul if she had two Human Souls on hand to examine.

Toriel took a little while to persuade. I was glad she had such trust in Sans and let us go not too long after. We left our seabags behind, but kept the machetes.

Sans brought us in front of the Laboratory, next to a Save Point. I went ahead and brushed against it.

"Ugh," Ben held a hand to his head and wobbled a little.

"It affects people differently," I explained to Ben, who looked just a little green.

He touched the Save Point and looked much better a moment later. We waited for the door to open and began to greet Alphys.

Strike that, it was Mettaton. He was in his bipedal form and his black hair looked freshly greased back and his body looked extra shiny.

"Humans! How delightful!" Mettaton exclaimed and stepped closer to the two of us.

"Sorry, Mettaton. We've got to speak with Alphys," Sans pushed past Mettaton and I sent him an apologetic look as I went past.

"S-s-sans?"

"Hey, Alphys," Sans greeted her in his normal lazy drawl, ignoring the anime cat girl "Nya"-ing on a large screen in the room. It was quickly silenced by a certain blushing Monster.

"H-h-h-h-h-"

"Humans," I finished for the stuttering Alphys. "We've come for your help."

We sent Mettaton away with the excuse that it was important information for Alphys' ears only.

We then explained, with Sans leading the explanation, about the Save Points, Resets, and Loading. About how time was being controlled, to a certain extent, by a murderous girl and, to an even lesser extent, by myself and Ben. Sans also explained that he was the only one, that he knew of, that remembered the many timelines and what occurred in them.

"You worked with Determination and we need to see how it affects these two."

Alphys went really quiet.

"Y-you know about those experiments?" Alphys asked, voice low and as nervous as I ever heard her.

"You came clean in several timelines. It always turned out well enough. Everyone was happy to see their family again, even in their meshed together forms. Now we need to hurry and see what happens if these two are injected with Determination."

"We're doing this willingly," Ben added.

"Follow me," she sighed and led us further into her home/laboratory. She went to a room with several locks and spent a full two minutes unlocking it. In the small closet-sized space beyond the door stood a refrigerator with a great many sealed test tubes. A lot of them were different colors, but Alphys went straight for two test tubes with something red in them.

She held them with the firmest grip and closed the door behind her when she moved to the next room.

"Please sit in that chair," she pointed a clawed finger at a red chair that was shaped very similarly to the chairs you lay on when you go to the dentist and they poke around in your mouth. Much like the dentist's office, various machines surrounded and hummed around the chair.

I never liked the dentist's office.

I got in the chair and resisted the urge to jump right back out when it buzzed at my contact.

"I-it's scanning your Soul and your levels of Determination," Alphys explained while typing on a keyboard and glancing at another screen with various graphs and numbers.

"What is it saying?"

Alphys scanned the screen before declaring, "No different from the other Souls I've scanned. A little bit of fluctuation since you're still-uh."

"Alive?" I prompted.

"Yeah. Yeah, alive. You can get up now."

I didn't hesitate in hauling myself out and letting Ben take my place.

"Your Determination levels are a lot smaller than Chara's," Sans muttered to me when I went to stand by him.

"Then we may be on to something?"

"I think so."

"His Determination is a little higher than yours," Alphys spoke up after a minute.

"It's not much, but it is noticeable."

I nodded at her words and asked, "What do you see when you touch the Save Points?"

"Uh, the File Saved thing?" Ben answered, his face confused.

"Anything else?" I pushed for details.

"Umm. It says our location, I think. It has my name, then the letters LV and a one next to them. That's it."

I had seen none of that before.

"We're definitely onto something. Let's hurry and try injecting the Determination."

"Maybe you should Save first?" Sans suggested and Alphys nodded quickly after. She apparently absorbed everything we had told her and understood what this meant: if she screwed up, we could simply start over. No repercussions. This situation was a dream to someone who had gone through what she had.

"Yeah, good call. We'll be right back."

We, Ben and myself, made our way back outside and touched the Save Point. I stared intently at the screen, but didn't see what Ben had mentioned. I only saw File Saved, our location, and the blank screen on the rest of it. Even when Ben touched it, I only saw what I saw on mine.

"Hey, are you sure this is a good idea?" Ben asked, slowing down on the way back to the doors. I slowed with him.

"It's okay. If something goes wrong, Sans can just kill us and we can try again."

Ben's disgusted face made me rethink my wording.

"Ah, that sounds worse than it really is. Honestly, it lasts for about ten seconds, tops. And if this makes all this better, then we have to risk it."

"Why?"

I stopped.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why are we doing this?"

"We're stopping a crazy brat who has literally cause mass genocide hundreds of times and hasn't only done that to Monsters. And we are stuck in the loop now. While she's in control, we might have to repeat this. All of this. Just like Sans has had to. Monsters can't get Determination without it doing something horrible. We may literally be their only opportunity to stop all of this."

Ben was quiet for a minute.

"I. I think I understand. Let's go."

I smiled and smacked him on the back comfortingly.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll go first until the results get better." I had died before. I wouldn't be as freaked as him.

"Er, thanks."

"No problem."

We went back into the room and I climbed into the chair.

"We've come up with a system for figuring all this out," Alphys said while preparing a needle filled with the red liquid. The extracted Determination.

"Any time this d-doesn't work, remember what number we were on. We can steadily lower or raise the amounts until it works. This is test number one. U-unless we've already done this?"

I shook my head. "Nope. First time. Let's do this."

Alphys nodded and moved closer.

"Sorry," she murmured before pushing the needle into my neck and sending the Determination into my veins.

I began screaming a few moments after she finished injecting and stepped back to watch.

The Determination burned-no, it didn't burn. It was _cold, hot, lukewarm_. Everything and nothing. _Indescribable_! Reality became layered. I saw an endless stream of Alphyses moving through the lab, performing tasks that remained a mystery due to the overlapping nature of what I saw. I saw the thousands of afterimages of Ben, running towards me with a panicked expression. Even the walls vibrated and twisted to my eyes. An endless stream of Monsters entered and left the room.

My Soul rose out of my body. Once pink, it was now red and dripping crimson.

Sans was the only somewhat normal thing I saw. His form had a faint buzz around him and that was it.

His hand rose and bones were embedded into my chest.

I was back in front of the laboratory.

A shaken Ben stood next to me.

"I'm glad you went first," he said, right before I puked into a pool of magma.

* * *

It was weird, getting used to normal reality. Despite it lasting "approximately fifteen seconds," according to Sans and Ben, my brain was trying to get its 'reality legs' back. Much like the sensation of a rocking boat, my brain had to get used to normality.

The ground seemed far too ridged. Ben being in a single position was sacrilegious. The empty rooms we went in made me feel exposed.

I was shaking when I went back in the chair under Ben's guidance.

"Test two. Reduce the dosage," Sans said after discussing what they both remembered with Ben. Sans ability to remember timelines wasn't perfect, so be had to make touch base with Ben.

Alphys gave my twitching eyes and overly-still body a concerned look.

"C'mon. Let's go."

"I'm going to put half the original amount in. Sorry-er, again."

She pushed the needle in and took it out in half the time as before.

The indescribable sensation took longer to hit. The world was a bit more held together and I didn't scream so much as let out a keening whine from the back of my throat. I only saw afterimages of what was actually there rather than everything changing and making me sick.

"-id!" Ben's voice echoed in my ears and I did my best to focus on the fifteen Bens in front of me.

I tried to speak, but found my tongue unable to form words. I wasn't able to figure out where it was supposed to go to form words.

The bones embedded themselves in my chest again.

I puked, again.

"Half the dosage," I rasped once I was done and the magma burnt away the last of my sick.

"We can take a break-"

"Nah, I'm fine."

My slightly unfocused eyes and the concerned look from everyone when I came into the room told me that they thought otherwise. The world was still off, just a little.

Alphys changed the dosage and, after apologising, stuck me again.

The world was just about clear, this dosage. I still couldn't speak, but there were only about four or five afterimages as opposed to the hundreds of thousands it had felt like I had seen before.

The thing that was different, this time, was the glitchy bastard that walked in out of the blue.

His body was tall, about the height of Papyrus. He wore a black lab coat and he seemed like the most anatomically incorrect skeleton that could exist. His domed head looked nothing like a skull and the holes in his hands should have left him unable to move his fingers. Two scar-like things extended from the top and bottom of his right and left eye sockets.

"1/19th of the original dosage," I heard the glitching Monster say, his voice nearly inaudible through a static haze, moments before bones sent me back to the Save Point.

I didn't feel the urge to vomit when I appeared and immediately turned to Ben.

"Who was the guy that came in?"

"What? No one came in."

"Umm, big guy. Domed skull with some interesting scars. Black lab coat. He was literally a few feet in front of you. Anything?"

"Nothing. Are you sure we shouldn't stop?"

"He told me 1/19th dosage. Let's try it."

I told Alphys the amount and she pushed it into my system, apologizing once again.

The glitchy Monster appeared in front of me the moment I felt the indescribable sensation.

"We will not have long. I am Doctor W. D. Gaster. The others will not be able to see me as I am no longer a part of the reality that you-"

"David? Hello?"

Ben walked straight through Gaster and I blinked at the sight. I hardly saw any afterimages, but I could tell that they were there.

"G-g-yaster," I forced my tongue to pronounce, slightly skewing the name.

It was enough for Sans to recognize it, however.

"How do you know about Doctor Gaster?" Sans questioned me, moving closer.

"R-ri her," I pointed towards the silent Monster that was in between Sans and Ben. They both looked to the area I pointed and I could tell they didn't see him.

"What does he look like?" Sans asked and I described him with shaking lips.

"I require a conduit to bring me back into the proper reality," Gaster interrupted me. "Please take my hand."

Gaster extended one of his hands and I grabbed into it. I wasn't really in a position to question what would happen otherwise and the risk seemed minimal.

The world went dark.

I noticed a screen in front of me. It was blurry and indistinct, but I could make out the words.

"Hit Continue, if you please," the clear voice of Doctor Gaster said from next to me, his body no longer looking like a television with a faulty signal.

I tried to speak, but I couldn't produce any sound.

Seeing no other options, I pressed Continue. The Reset, weirdly enough, seemed more solid that the other option.

"What the hell!" Ben jumped away when we appeared. The thing that made him do this was Doctor Gaster being less than a foot away from him. I also stepped a few feet away, but that was more because he was uncomfortably close than anything else. He didn't seem incredibly dangerous or anything.

"I'm sorry," Gaster's said, his hands moving and creating signs as he spoke. "I did not mean to startle you. I just wanted to return to this reality. I am Doctor W. D. Gaster. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Would you please Save?"

I reached out and Saved.

"I can see them!" I exclaimed, pointing at the File Loaded screen.

"LV 1, my name, this area, is that a timer?" It was somewhat blurred, but I could see them.

"It tells you how long it has been since the first time you touched a Save Point," Gaster explained. It was clear that he could see, or at least knew about, the Save Points.

"Please, let's go inside. This plan of yours. I would like to discuss it further. I've done some calculations and I think this will work."

* * *

"It is good to see you again, Sans."

I had never seen Sans so flabbergasted than when Gaster strolled into the room that they were waiting.

I noticed that Gaster was the only skeleton I had seen thus far whose mouth actually moved normally when they spoke. His lips, however thin and near non-existent as they were, could form expressions more so than his sons.

Yeah, his sons. It turns out that Gaster created Sans and Papyrus in some lab, a century or so before. They couldn't remember the exact time.

"They were originally meant to be weapons against humanity," Gaster admitted. I could believe him. I had seen what Sans could do. We talked while Alphys injected me with a miniscule amount of Determination. The amount was calculated by Gaster and Alphys tried it without hesitation.

I'm not sure if it was true, but apparently almost everyone forgot about Doctor Gaster when he fell into some place called the Core. Alphys began remembering him and was soon stuttering and fangirling over her predecessor: the former royal scientist.

I felt only a fraction of what I felt originally and the world came into more focus than any attempt before. The world didn't seem any different to my eyes, but my Soul said something different. It said that I could achieve it.

What that ' _it_ ' was, I had no clue. But I could achieve it, I was certain. I was **Determined**.

"It worked," I said, moments before Alphys checked the machine and confirmed.

"His S-Soul is stable. It worked!"

There were grins all around, but Ben asked, "What now?"

There was a pause.

"Now we go and face the brat and see what happens," Sans said, his sockets empty.

"Perfect. Always wanted to go fight a demon," I groaned and pushed myself up.

* * *

Sans brought us back to Toriel and declared us both healthy and that Alphys confirmed that she had a chance to create something akin to the Human Soul when she had two examples to work off of.

He was lying out of his ass, obviously. But we had a plan for this.

It was the next day, and the world still had a feeling of 'I can manage anything I put myself to.' We were in Alphys' lab and Ben was being injected with a slightly less amount of Determination than what was put into me.

We had confirmed that I had the option to Reset on command. And soon after, so did Ben.

We didn't, though. We had worked far too hard to simply throw it all away.

Sans, who had been keeping an eye out, appeared in Alphys' lab.

"She's here."

Gaster, Ben, and myself all stood and made our way to Sans. Alphys stayed where she was, but wished us all luck.

Sans brought us to in front of Toriel's house and we, Ben and myself, Saved. We had noticed, after being injected with the perfect amount of Determination, Save Points that we had not been able to see before. Save Points in seemingly random locations throughout the underground that were now visible.

We made our way through the Ruins, Saving at some location, until we found Chara.

Her blade was in a half-dissolved Froggit when she turned to us, grinning. I grit my teeth and pulled out the machete. Ben copied me, looking sick at the sight of the Froggit's last moments.

Chara was practically covered in dust. I was glad we had taken Toriel from the Ruins.

"You didn't come last time and I got so bored," Chara said with a pout that quickly shifted to a smile.

"This is the end of the line," Sans said, his tone utterly serious and his one eye glowing azure.

I groaned and everyone looked at me.

"Seriously, Sans? You had to go with something _so clichè_?"

Ben punched me in the arm and told me, "Be serious!"

I rolled my eyes and began walking forward.

"You're not the only person with the ability to Reset," I said locking eyes with the brat. I noticed that, when our Souls came out, both were equally as crimson. Her eyes narrowed at the sight.

"Most people's Souls aren't like mine. Yours never got that color." She referred to several occasions before she first Reset when Sans attacking her would cause my Soul to appear.

"What can I say? I'm feeling _Determined_!"

With that, I swung my machete at the brat and she jumped out of the way, her Soul staying in place in front of her chest, over her heart.

I began to run after her, ready to get some revenge for the times that she killed me, when bones sprang forth and stabbed her right in her stomach. Sans had ended things quickly.

 _Spoilsport._

She dropped her knife (finally), and I grabbed her Soul when it began to fall at the speed of a feather. I hated how it felt exactly like Ben's Soul. I expected it to burn, to be colder, to be less Human in some way. I was disappointed.

"Heh," a wet noise came from Chara and we got closer to the dying girl. She was on two knees with the long bones propping her up in front.

"There's one. I'll be sure to get you next time."

"That's just it, Chara," I bent down to her level. "We have the same level of Determination now. You're not going to Reset any more."

Even as I said it, the screen I had seen before appeared.

Continue?

Or Reset?

But there was something new above them. Something neither of us had seen before. And something I would have bet money that Chara hadn't seen before. Above the options were the numbers, "(0/3)."

Chara moved and touched the Reset option and the (0/3) turned to (1/3).

Ben touched the Continue option, and it matched the Reset option.

I smiled. Chara gave me a look of terror.

"I-I-I won't do it again! Please!"

I hesitated for a moment, my finger hovering above Continue. All I could see right then was a scared child who didn't want to die. Who was in pain.

Then I remembered everything she had done.

Even as the resolve became evident in my eyes, I saw her act, for that's basically what it was, vanish and her scared visage became one of a snarling beast.

I pressed Continue.

Chara stopped moving, like she was a marionette with her strings cut. The bones vanished and she flopped over, dead.

"I think we have our seventh Soul," I said hand holding up Chara's Soul.

* * *

The story went as such.

With the help of two living Human Souls at her, and Doctor Gaster's, disposal, they managed to create an Artificial Soul.

Only the five of us, myself, Gaster, Sans, Ben, and Alphys, knew the truth.

Before we presented the Soul to Asgore and Toriel, who had basically taken control but had not become Queen, we visited Chara's grave. We had buried her beneath the yellow flowers that had broken my fall when I first fell into the Ruins. There, we found Flowey.

"You couldn't have hit Reset? She just wanted to live." Flowey's voice was something that sounded broken.

"And so do all of the Monsters of the underground," Sans said, his eye socket once again azure and glowing. We had been waiting for Flowey to show up. We didn't understand why he hadn't been included in the decision between Continue and Reset.

We didn't care.

Sans, ever the efficient and lazy bastard, put Flowey in a cage made of blue bones. It extended below the ground, so he couldn't escape.

"Get dunked on," was all that Sans said before blasting Flowey with a Gaster Blaster.

The screen came up. I quickly chose Continue.

"You can have the honor since he killed you so many times," I told Ben.

Ben hesitated for just a few moments before touching the screen and sending the (1/3) to (2/3) above Continue.

Flowey didn't have a Soul, which surprised me. He was strong enough that I would have expected him to have one.

"It's over. Let's get going."

* * *

We presented the Soul to the two Dreemurrs and Asgore broke the Barrier soon after.

We went to the surface and basically did the same thing that I had done before. A few things were different. For one, Ben was alive. I didn't have to tell his family that he died in an accident and try to make them feel better by saying his sacrifice allowed the freedom of a trapped species.

I didn't have to fake not being sad at the death of my best friend.

Monsterkind was back. New Home was thriving. My best friend was alive. I only had one more thing to take care of.

* * *

"You about done, pal?"

"Almost."

I was in the spot I had been in the first time I had climbed that pile of dirt. I was finishing the drawing, now including New Home in the picture of the West Virginian landscape with the sun setting in the back. I had drawn basically the same thing, but on the other side of Mt. Ebott and when the sun was rising.

"Done," I declared, setting everything down and slouching a bit. My shoulders ached from being hunched over my work. Sans left the spot of grass he had been napping in for the last couple of hours and walked over to where I was sitting, putting away my supplies.

He leaned in and glanced back and forth from the real deal and my work.

"What's it called?"

I had thought about it and had decided upon it at some point through this attempt. My last attempt, if what we achieved meant anything.

As I wrote my signature on it, I declared, "This is going to be called ' _Beginning of a New Age._ '"

Sans thought for a moment.

"Kinda corny there, David."

"Shut up!"

* * *

This all took me a grand total of three weeks. All of this. It would fill me with great joy if you would all leave me your opinion of this work and do not hesitate to give suggestions and ridicule, where deserved.

Yes, I know that Sans was not the pun-master that he normally is. Unfortunately, neither am I. I tried where I could, but I am certain that I did not capture his punny awesomeness. His hilarity, alas, wasn't the point of this story. I wanted a more serious, though still lazy, form of Sans than what most other stories do.

My apologies to the readers of my other stories for being so lazy with them recently! This caught my attention and would not let go until I finally got it out. All almost thirty thousand words of it.

Darn Plot Bunnies.

Anyways. As I've said in my other chapters, review! And if you enjoyed this, feel free to check out my other stories.

Thanks for reading,

Talkingbirdguy.


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